Eugene Field Trip
We could have spent another day exploring some of the venerable natural foods manufacturers that have been thriving in Eugene for decades. As it was, we filled Friday, June 20, to the brim with great experiences of touring and tasting.
We convened in the conference room at Springfield Creamery, where Sue Kesey, her daughter Cheryl and Nancy Hamren (the Nancy of Nancy’s Yogurt) gave us a history of the business and the hippie serendipity that resulted in Nancy’s Yogurt. We had a tasting of all the products, which are all natural with no additives or preservatives. The creamy cottage cheese and the cream cheese were delightful revelations to those who had never tried them.
Next stop was Toby’s Family Foods, where we met Toby, whose product, tofu pate, was the result of creating a vegetarian sandwich filling for her kids that would help their lunches fit in with more traditional fare in the school cafeteria. A lot of people over the years have believed the tasty concoction was really egg salad. After a tour, Toby put on a fabulous spread (in both senses of the word) for us, sharing variations of tofu pate, as well as Genesis Juice.
After an enjoyable and delicious lunch we proceeded to Glory Bee Foods and marveled at their vast array of products — not just honey! We all enjoyed shopping at the retail store, buying beeswax candle making supplies, agave syrup, honey, olive oil and other items.
Our final tour of the day was at Golden Temple. We toured the production facility where cereal and granola is made and Yogi Tea is packaged. We enjoyed the potpourri of delicious odors. That evening we toasted a fabulous field trip with delicious cocktails and food at Bel Ami restaurant.
Those of us who stayed overnight spent the next morning at the Farmers Market and Saturday Market before meeting for lunch at Cafe Yumm! Mark and Maryann Beauchamp shared the story of their business with us. As with the other stories we’d heard during our Eugene field trip, it involved considerable serendipity, passion for good food and fun.
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