| When Phillip and Pauline Lupertino started growing cherries and apricots in the 1920s, Sunnyvale, California, was prime farmland. Over the next 100 years, the land would change as housing developers moved in, and their growing family would move to Winters, where their farm, Winters Fruit Tree, gets its name. With their diverse offering of fruits, nuts, and nut butters, Winters Fruit Tree has been a part of Foodwise’s Mission Community Market since its founding in 2010, and they joined the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in 2018.
As the small family farm transitions to its fifth generation of stewards, they continue to adapt to California land development, increased globalization of our food system, and a changing climate. “All of these issues are connected, so it’s not one thing that matters to us. It’s all of it,” says Ariela Carter, the great granddaughter of Philip and Pauline, who now manages the farm alongside her brother, Phil Jr. Carter. | 