People

Steve, Suzie, Becca and Rachel Sullivan, Claudio Rezende, Monica Contois, Laura Wilches, Michael Jaramillo, and Christina Jauregui, along with more than 220 full-time workers, all of whom are offered full medical benefits, a 401k plan, and profit sharing when feasible, with a company-wide $21.76/hour minimum wage.

Where

Berkeley, San Francisco, and South San Francisco; 12, 0, and 10 miles to the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market

About

In the late 1970s, Steve worked as a busboy at Chez Panisse restaurant. After Alice Waters tried his bread, Steve started baking for the restaurant. In 1983, Steve started The Acme Bread Company with his wife, Suzie. Acme’s bakers work with stone hearth European deck ovens and a 1930s Spanish brick oven. They bake hand-formed loaves and pastries in three production shifts, throughout the day and night.

Sourcing

Acme uses organic flour grown in California, Washington, Colorado, Utah, and Canada, and milled in Utah. Butter and milk are purchased from Challenge Dairy, which uses hormone-free milk from California farms. Acme uses mostly local, organic fruits and vegetables in their products.

People

The nonprofit organization partners with 40 food entrepreneurs who are launching, growing, or formalizing their operations.

About

Through the Building Equity program, Foodwise partners with La Cocina to provide pop-up opportunities for small food entrepreneurs at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market each month, and some have joined permanently. La Cocina (“the kitchen” in Spanish) serves as a platform for low-income and immigrant culinary entrepreneurs by providing affordable commercial kitchen space, industry-specific technical assistance, and access to market opportunities and capital. The organization’s vision is that program participants become economically self-sufficient and contribute to a vibrant and diverse economy while doing what they love to do.

Sourcing

The businesses in the incubator program source their raw ingredients from a range of producers. Ask about specific products to learn which source local and organic ingredients.

People

Ross and Karna Murphy, with 15 full- and 10 part-time employees

About

Open since 1987, the Downtown Bakery & Creamery is a family-run bakery in Healdsburg, California. Founded by Kathleen Stewart on the principles of farm-to-table cuisine, Downtown Bakery offers handcrafted, seasonally inspired goods. In 2021, when Kathleen decided to retire, Healdsburg locals Ross and Karna Murphy purchased the bakery and its crowd-favorite recipes. 

Sourcing

The bakery uses a natural sourdough starter, Clover-Stornetta and Petaluma Farms eggs, cane sugar, and fresh fruits. All flours are organic and sourced from a Petaluma-based mill that buys grains grown in the western United States. Many of the fruits and nuts in Downtown Bakery’s products are sourced from Sonoma County growers. 

People

Founder and CEO Minh Tsai, along with over 180 employees

About

As a child in Vietnam, Minh Tsai took morning strolls with his grandpa to theneighborhood tofu shack. The freshness and artisan-quality of the soymilk, tofu, and yuba of hischildhood eluded Minh for many years and ultimately led Minh to found Hodo in 2004. Hodonow supplies tofu to Chipotle, sweetgreen, and notable Bay Area restaurants including TheSlanted Door, State Bird Provisions, The Progress, Greens Restaurant, and Mister Jiu’s. Today,in addition to yuba and tofu, Hodo makes award-winning plant-based meat and egg alternativefoods like the Thai Curry Nuggets, Mexican Crumbles and the All-Day Egg Scramble. The HodoKitchen is always cooking new ready-to-eat foods with globally-inspired flavors to showcase thedeliciousness of their artisan plant-based protein. In 2022, Hodo was awarded the SustainableFood Systems Leadership Award by Acterra, recognizing its “huge” impact on environmental sustainability. 

Process

Hodo sources organic, non-GMO soybeans with specific protein and fat composition to make their creamy soy milk, the foundation of all their products. They use the whole bean, including its seed coat, and double extractions to get the most protein and fiber out of the bean. Their tofu is simply this soy milk combined with calcium sulfate, a natural mineral. Hodo meticulously minimizes the ratio of calcium sulfate to soy milk, ensuring a superior taste and texture. Their tofu is nutty, sweet, and smooth, with an average of 50% more protein than other tofu on the market. Fresh yuba (“tofu skin”) is made by heating the soy milk and allowing the fat and protein to form paper-thin sheets, which are then lifted off the surface by hand. Hodo is the only maker of fresh organic yuba in the country.

Sourcing

Hodo sources soybeans that are North American grown, organic, and non-GMO. All Hodo products are certified organic by CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmers), vegan, preservative-free, gluten-free, non-GMO, and manufactured in a facility that is peanut, tree nut, sesame, and dairy free. Hodo makes foods using the best, local ingredients they can find.

People

Hadi Shirazi, Sadegh Panahi, and Roya Panahi, along with 10 full-time employees

About

Marin Gourmet began as a Café Affi, run by Affi Panahi, a native of Iran who learned to cook from her grandmother. Affi’s customers encouraged her to make prepared foods that people could take home, and she eventually decided to sell the café after her prepared foods business took off. Affi passed away, but her son Sadegh has continued her lageacy, and all of her original recipes are still used. 

Sourcing

Marin Gourmet has a partnership with a farm near Fresno that grows their garlic, eggplant, peppers, fresh herbs, and some of the wheat that goes into their crackers. Other items, such as garbanzo beans and olive oil, come from distributors that sell products grown in the United States and abroad.