Angelica Estrada of Sweet Valley Produce
Angelica Estrada at the Sweet Valley Produce farm stand.
Knowing the farmer who grew your food is Central to the Valley.
Angelica Estrada knows produce. Her parents began distributing fruits and vegetables in the 1980s, and when the tech industry changed how food was bought and sold, they struggled to keep up. Angelica saw this as an opportunity, she began studying economics and gaining experience in food processing procedures, with the hope of helping her family's business and the farming communities around her.
Today, she runs a network of values-driven businesses, including Sweet Valley Produce INC. where she grows a variety of sweet potatoes and works with a network of family-owned farms. Sweet Valley Produce is a food hub that aggregates and distributes produce from their farming partners to retailers and restaurants throughout California. As her businesses have grown, Angelica has prioritized supporting farmers and reducing food waste.
From the fields of Merced straight to your table, without waste.
Angelica is not just growing food, she's building a system that makes it easier for local food to reach local people. She founded Sweet Roots Kitchen, a restaurant and retail space in downtown Merced, where people can build their own salads and wraps using fresh, locally grown ingredients from close to 40 family farms. She describes herself as "the Bubba Gump of sweet potatoes," and the menu reflects this, with items like sweet potato pie, candied sweet potatoes, and sweet potato enchiladas. She also sells local salad mixes, made-in-house dressings, and protein options from boiled eggs to salmon at affordable prices, ensuring there is something for everyone. Sweet Roots Kitchen offers takeout or delivery via Doordash. Sweet Roots Kitchen also offers weekly farm boxes featuring fresh local produce from her network of family farmers.
Reducing Waste, Supporting Farmers
Supporting farmers and reducing food waste are not just ideas for Angelica, she consistently makes business decisions that put these values into action. Through Sweet Valley Produce and Sweet Roots Kitchen, Angelica partners with small growers across the Central Valley to recover surplus and imperfect crops that rarely make it to grocery stores.
““It tastes great. It just doesn’t make it to market because it’s not visibly appealing. We need to create consciousness around that” ”
It's a simple idea with a big impact: more food gets eaten locally, more local farmers get paid, and more local people get access to fresh, local produce.
““Farming is community-based. You can do it alone, but it’s so much better when you have others around you.””
Angelica’s commitment to community is supported by action. Buying surplus crops from farmers who may be struggling to sell what they have grown can be an action that saves a business and a farming legacy. That's what sourcing locally can do
Angelica is a shining example of Central Valley ingenuity. When you buy from a local family farmer, you're creating a thriving local economy that values farmers, reduces waste, and strengthens communities.
Buy Local With Purpose
Learn more about Angelica and Sweet Valley Produce.
Visit the Sweet Valley Produce farm stand, featuring fruits and veggies from their extensive network of local family farms.
Enjoy local food made with local produce at Sweet Roots Kitchen in Merced.
Ready to Explore?
Visit the Central to the Valley Buying Guide to explore local food near you, learn more about who grows it, and support the farmers and partners shaping our regional food system.