Coke Farm has been producing outstanding organically grown fruits and vegetables for over thirty years. In August of 1981, prompted by a doubting conventional farmer who speculated that strawberries could not be grown organically, founder Dale Coke planted his first strawberries on the home ranch near Aromas, California. The plants produced successfully and a local natural foods store became the first Coke Farm customer. Dale started planting more crops and joined the Santa Cruz chapter of C.C.O.F. (California Certified Organic Farmers).
Within a year Dale connected with a chef at Chez Panisse who expressed interest in the strawberries and squash he was growing. Coke Farm expanded by growing more and different crops, selling more organic produce to local stores and to the San Francisco Bay Area restaurant trade.
Within a couple years,Coke Farm was growing specialty and baby lettuces for upscale restaurants on both the East and West coasts. When faced with the abundance of greens and lettuces in the field, Dale began harvesting and mixing several varieties together and created “spring mix”. Large-scale wholesalers took an interest and began buying the spring mix for the the restaurant trade in major metropolitan areas. The popular mix created demand for a larger-scale production.
By 1990 Coke Farm had grown to a 200+ acre farm, harvesting over fifty crop varieties each year and shipping daily out of a cooler on site in San Juan Bautista. Today Coke Farm continues to provide its customers with organic, specialty, top quality, seasonal fruits and vegetables year-round. In addition to growing and shipping their own produce, Coke Farm also cools, stores, and ships for several local organic farms.