recipes
Story by Barbara Arciero • Food photos and portrait by James Collier Beverage photo by Meg van der Kruik
Marketing expert builds support for farmers and ranchers A fifth-generation California farmer, K.C. Cornwell was raised on meals built around the seasonal bounty provided by her family and neighboring families. “We ate farm-to-table before there was a name for it,” the Madera County woman says with a laugh. Today, her father, uncle and cousins grow almonds, grapes, prunes, persimmons and pomegranates on the family’s land. As for Cornwell herself, most of what she grows is awareness of and appreciation for California farmers and ranchers. “For people who believe in purpose or Dharma—pick your vernacular—what I’m doing is mine,” she says. The entrepreneur owns a digital marketing company that creates and distributes content for clients in the food, wine and agriculture sectors. Her core position is social and digital director for California Grown, a statewide marketing organization formed to help consumers recognize California’s role in food production and to connect them with the farmers and ranchers who grow over 400 specialty crops in the state. “At this point, you’d be hard pressed to name one (crop) where I haven’t at least met someone and interviewed them and talked with them at length about why they do what they do, what the challenges are, what the benefits are,” Cornwell says. To support her clients and their role in food production, she and her team manage a variety of projects, including photography, article writing, and video and recipe development. Cornwell says she’s passionate about sharing the stories of farmers and ranchers because “California’s role in agriculture is important to the rest of the world, whether they know it or not.” She adds that she hopes to demonstrate to her daughter “that work can be important and it can be fun.”
Growing appreciation
K.C. Cornwell says she tries to write “easy-to-prepare, everyday, approachable recipes.”
Barbara Arciero barciero@californiabountiful.com
32
January/February 2024
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