Press Release
Deck Your Holiday Table with Nature’s Bounty from Marin County
November 15, 2021
Enjoy fresh, one-of-a-kind celebrations—and support your Marin community—with locally grown, raised, harvested and sourced gourmet foods and gifts
POINT REYES STATION, Calif., Nov. 15, 2021 — Just-picked fruits and vegetables, grass-grazed beef and lamb, Tomales Bay shellfish, farm-fresh eggs, specialty cheeses, sweet honey and fragrant flowers— even tabletop textiles and dinner candles— are just some of the harvest-time bounty of choices available to Bay Area consumers and visitors this holiday season from Marin County farmers and producers.
Marin County, just north of San Francisco, offers Bay Area shoppers and visitors an abundance of choices for holiday menus and gift-giving, minus the shipping delays and supply-chain shortages currently plaguing other sources.
“When you choose locally grown food and give locally grown gifts, you get the very best of what West Marin has to offer,” said Thane Kreiner, Ph.D., CEO of the Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT). “Buying from Marin County producers lets you connect directly with the very people who can make your holiday celebrations special. And, you are taking positive action to help mitigate climate change — by avoiding the greenhouse gases involved in shipping goods and by supporting regenerative, sustainable agriculture practices. It’s a gift you give not only to yourself and your loved ones but also to the planet.”
Gift Boxes Galore, Online or from Stores
For Bay Area residents wondering what they’ll find on a shopping trek in Marin County, MALT’s Buy Local guide can point consumers to all the right places.
For example, there are holiday gifts and packages onsite —and online — from renowned specialty meat sources such as Rossotti, Fallon Hills and Stemple Creek ranches; shellfish meal kits from Hog Island Oyster Co.; honey and honey gifts from Sola Bee Farms; sumptuous yarns and fleece from Barinaga Ranch and pure wool from Joe Pozzi Ranch, holiday wreaths from Little Wing Farm, and cheese delicacies from Cowgirl Creamery, Point Reyes Farmstead and Nicasio Valley.
“Covid-related restaurant and tourism closures have deeply impacted small-scale and artisanal producers across the region,” said Vivien Straus, co-manager, with her brother Michael, of the Straus Home Ranch. “Buying local this holiday season is a great — and tasty — way to help support our community of farmers and ranchers.”
Travel the California Cheese Trail, Virtually or for Real
Vivien Straus also happens to be creator of the California Cheese Trail, which has become a resource for aficionados throughout the state. The Marin leg of the trail includes Cowgirl Creamery, Point Reyes Farmstead and Nicasio Valley as well as specialty purveyors like Marin French Cheese, Ramini Mozzarella and Tomales Farmstead Creamery. In the Straus Home Ranch online store, gift-hunters will find a California Holiday collection of six artisanal farmstead cheeses paired with flatbread and a ‘kooky cow’ kitchen towel designed by Ellen Straus, a MALT co-founder.
Farm stands in West Marin County beckon visitors with harvest-time produce, fall flowers, pasture-raised eggs and other finds from MALT-affiliated growers like Farmer Joy, Little Wing Farm, Table Top Farm, Tomales Bay Pastures and Chi’ken City by Kitty.
Dinner hosts looking for unique tablescape and home decor gift items can find locally spun yarn, handwoven shawls and blankets, luxurious sheepskins and tallow-based body care, soaps and candles from Black Mountain Ranch-based Fibershed every other Sunday at the Temescal Farmers Market in Oakland.
About MALT
Marin Agricultural Land Trust is a nonprofit organization created in 1980 to permanently preserve Marin County farmland and establish Marin County as a thriving agricultural community in a healthy and diverse natural environment. Some of the Bay Area’s most highly acclaimed dairy and meat products and organic crops are produced on farmland protected by MALT, which totals more than 54,000 acres. To learn more about MALT, visit malt.org.
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For Further Information Contact:
Llyr Johansen
Director of Marketing and Communications, MALT
303-931-9735
llyr@malt.org
Colleen Martell
Martell Communications for MALT
408-832-0147
cmartell@martellpr.com