There are several stellar local businesses who choose to support Sierra Harvest in a number of ways ranging from sharing in kind products and services to annual donations. Periodically, we highlight these amazing sponsors and the work they do. We caught up with Laurie and Michael Michel from Mountain People’s Wine Distributing Inc. to talk about who they are and why they support the work of Sierra Harvest.
Mountain People’s Wine Distributing Inc. is a member of Harvesting our Future Society, which means they have committed to donating to Sierra Harvest for 5 consecutive years based on their pledge. Michael Michel, Owner and Laura Fung, President have chosen to support Sierra Harvest because it is local to Nevada County and shares in their mission of supporting small family farms and organic agriculture. They also believe that bringing education and high-quality organic farm products to our schools is a great investment in the future.
Mountain Peoples Wine Distributing Inc. has been in business for 25 years this year. Distributing over 300 Organic and Biodynamic wines both domestic and from around the world, you can purchase their wines locally from Natural Selection, Briar Patch Food Co-op, California Organics, SPD, Watershed, Three Forks, The Onyx and many more restaurants and stores throughout California. Their main local wine is Chacewater and many of the reds are grown organically off Bitney Springs Road.
In addition to their business support, Laurie Michel has been involved with the gleaning program for 9 years now! Michel said, “It has morphed and evolved since I first started way back then. Now with Sierra Harvest managing the program, they have made great improvements in the technology, volunteerism, donation of crops and overall exposure to the public. I signed up as a harvest leader last year because I wanted to be more involved in harvesting unused crops of fruit and vegetables and therefore reducing food waste. I also enjoy the fact that we are providing healthy fresh food options to the clients of Interfaith Food Ministry by delivering the harvest to them for distribution to their clients. It is a win for everyone! The homeowner or farmer gets their produce picked, we get to be out in the sun doing something fun, and the food doesn’t go to waste!”
When asked about why they choose to continually support Sierra Harvest, Michel said, “In addition to sharing our company’s mission, we support Sierra Harvest because we believe in supporting our community. Sierra Harvest works hard to bring our community together around the idea of nourishing our bodies and our earth with healthy, locally grown organic foods.”