Kids and dirt School lunch program, Green Gulch Farms

reaching out Since its inception in 1999, Marin Organic has made
tremendous strides bringing more green—both environmental and economic—
into Marin County, which is a mixture of farming and suburban communities.
Besides giving voice, brand recognition, and networking opportunities to the
region’s farmers and food producers, they’ve donated about 100,000 pounds
of local organic food—oversized zucchini, mislabeled yogurt, and other high-
quality perishables that couldn’t go to market—to about half of the county’s
schools, as well as to retirement homes
and some of the area’s poorest residents.
Education is also a big part of
Marin Organic’s community
outreach. In addition to offering local
growers workshops on certain
growing techniques, marketing, and
value-added production, Marin
Organic also sponsors farm tours,
a speaker series, and food

CHRIS JACkSON/GET TY IMAGES consciousness events for the public. Locals come to hear Michael Pollan speak, find out more about Salmon Safe certification, see how solar energy powers a local cheese-producing facility, or learn how to grow fruits and vegetables with proper stewardship of the soil.

a receptive audience Helberg attributes the success of his organization to a number of factors, including dedicated farmers and a conscientious, affluent community to support them. Marin’s highly eco-literate residents are willing, says Helberg, to “spend a dollar more for some products because it’s an investment in their future and the future of our society.” And, he says, “We have exceptional farmers who are going beyond what is legally required to be organic in virtually every aspect of their operations.” He notes that most of them use alternative energy such as wind, biodiesel, solar, and, in the case of Straus Family Creamery,

Outstanding in his field: marin Organic’s executive director Helge Helberg; opposite page, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, stopped by West marin’s all-organic Pt. reyes Farmer’s market in 2005 during a visit to the u.S.

CONTeNTS HeLP PAul TRAPANI