I LOVE LOCAL! I’ve met many amazing artists, crafters,
food artisans, and small businesses doing fairs in the Bay Area. I thought it would be fun to get to know them
better. Today, Judy Cardiff, custom food
preservationist extraordinaire, shares her story and love for all things local!
(By the way, I’m in LOVE with her Carrot Cake Jam!)
Who are you and what is your business about?
I spent 20 years in corporate
America and gave up my career for my "calling" (motherhood) when my
son arrived 3 months early back in 2007.
A big part of embracing the roll of
a homemaker after two decades as a ladder climber and ceiling breaker was
reigning in our budget. We are HUGE proponents of organic and local...so much
so that we grow almost all of our own produce during the summer. I come from a
family of canners. My grandmother and her sisters would "Put up" and
divide their respective harvests every year. So putting up our harvests was a
no brainer. After having a friend join me to can tomatoes one summer, it was
suggested that we offer a class for my son's preschool auction. It was a great
success and we developed a few canners from that class, but I also had a few
women tell me that for as much as they loved the tomatoes we did, they didn't
see themselves ever doing all that work on their own.
All this time I'd been working for
a friend's home based business. I had start up experience and we'd done some
great things to grow his business. But, adages about working for friends being
true, that relationship didn't last and last September I found myself trying to
figure out what to do with myself when a neighbor asked for ideas on what to do
with the passion fruit that was taking of their yard. I offered to make jam and
split the yield. She used her share for gifts and mentioned to me "I'd
LOVE to have all home canned stuff in my kitchen...especially with all that's
growing in our yard, but I don't have the time."
So my business is actually custom
food preservation. You grow it or source it, and I'll preserve it for you. I do
canned produce, frozen produce, dried produce...I'll make jams, jellies,
salsas, pickles and I'll re-create old family recipes. I also do lessons. This
year I decided to do some jams to bring to craft fairs to introduce myself and
my abilities and much to my surprise, I sold out of everything each time. So
now I offer a few seasonal jams and jellies year round. Soon they'll be
available on my website (www.fromgardentojar.com)
and (hopefully!) at a small venue near you!
What are some random facts about you?
1) I was a competitive figure
skater for 10 years -Early in my career I traveled internationally quite a bit.
So much that I flew 200,000 miles in 6 months!
2) I hate grocery stores!
What’s your favorite part of Oakland?
My favorite part of Oakland is
Fairyland! This little, unassuming playground was the impetus for Disneyland.
And that kinda sums up Oakland to me...unassuming, full of charm, and a place
where big dreams are launched.
Thanks Judy! You can
find out more about her at www.fromgardentojar.com
and www.facebook.com/FromGardenToJar.
And remember, From Garden to Jar is Oakland!
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