Farm Beat: Stanislaus Grown honors local food advocates

Jicama helped a grocery manager win one of four awards bestowed Friday for local-food efforts in Stanislaus County.

Stanislaus Grown, a group that promotes the county’s farm products, gave its Business of the Year award to Del Ambris, store director at the Cost Less Food Co. store in Ceres.

He has used posters and recipe cards to highlight various kinds of produce, and he plans to put on a parking lot fair in May, where customers can learn even more. Ambris said jicama, a root vegetable native to Mexico, has done especially well when featured.

“We tripled our sales over the year prior for that month,” he said. “It was phenomenal.”

Jicama, pronounced “HEE-come-uh,” is often eaten raw but can also be used in stir-fries, salads and other dishes. It’s high in fiber and vitamin C.

The Cost Less chain stocks a large amount of Latino foods at its stores. Along with Ceres, there are two in Modesto and one each in Turlock, Oakdale and Jackson.

Stanislaus Grown, established in 2014, presented its first Local Food Champions awards at the county agricultural center off Crows Landing Road. Along with Ambris, the honorees were:

Farmer of the Year: Ratto Bros., which grows a wide variety of vegetables west of Modesto and has helped with health and education causes.

Restaurant of the Year: Ann Endsley, owner of Greens on Tenth in downtown Modesto and Greens Table at the north end of town. She has stressed local foods on her menus and also helped with education and other causes.

Food Service Director of the Year: Scott Soiseth, director of child nutrition for the Turlock Unified School District. He has been a leader in providing healthy meals for students while getting most of the food from California producers.

Soiseth, father of Turlock Mayor Gary Soiseth, said the district has cut the salt and saturated fat that had long been the hallmark of school fare. The current menu for high schools includes burgers and tri-tip from grass-fed cattle, several fruits and vegetables, and other healthy choices.

“It’s 15 different entree items, all fresh,” Soiseth said. “There isn’t a single processed item on the menu.”

Turlock and other school districts have worked with Ag Link, a company in the Ballico area, to connect with farmers who would like to stock their cafeterias. That can be tough at times of year when few fresh-market items are available, co-owner Jana Nairn said, but it’s still a worthwhile cause.

“Our latest mantra is ‘eat in season for a reason,’ ” she said.

Stanislaus Grown has produced print and online directories on fruits, vegetables, nuts, meat, dairy products and other items grown here. It is managed by the East Stanislaus Resource Conservation District. More information is at www.stanislausgrown.org.

This story was originally published March 4, 2016 at 5:05 PM with the headline "Farm Beat: Stanislaus Grown honors local food advocates."