Family Farming and Hand-picked Blueberries — with Kimberly Sorensen of Triple Delight Blueberries

Just in time for blueberry season, I recently spoke with Kimberly Sorensen of Triple Delight Blueberries on the podcast. 

Kim Sorensen and her husband, Mark, established Triple Delight Blueberries in 1997 in California’s San Joaquin Valley, making them a sixth-generation California family farm. Named for their three delightful daughters, Triple Delight brings fresh blueberries to kitchens and many of the top restaurants throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. 

I personally discovered their blueberries years ago at the Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market in San Francisco, and it was life-changing! Triple Delight Blueberries are seriously the best berries in the Bay Area, and I always look for them at farmer’s markets during blueberry season. It was such a pleasure speaking with Kim and learning more about her family business.

In this episode, Kim shares what makes Triple Delight Blueberries so special, their love for farmer’s markets, and how she considers farming a family affair. Listen to the full episode here or keep reading for some of my favorite moments with Kim.

How did Triple Delight Blueberries come to be?

Mark, my husband, is the farmer. He is a fifth-generation raisin farmer, and that was all that he’d ever done. He sold raisins wholesale to Sun-Maid Growers, which was all mechanized and not very hands-on. At the time, we had been married for a few years and had three little girls, and we wanted to do something different to diversify the farm and involve the family more so that the girls could get hands-on experience. 

We loved blueberries and decided to be one of the first farmers to test them in the Central Valley. We started with three acres. It was a learning experience, but it worked out, and we loved it. After a few years, we decided to try going to a farmer’s market. So, we hand-packed up some berries, packed up the girls, and went to a farmer’s market, and we all had so much fun. 

20+ years later, we now have 40 people working for us, and we go to about 70 farmer’s markets per week around the Bay Area during the season. We have 50 organic acres, 30 conventional acres, and just planted a new 20-acre block. 

People often ask why my husband and I still do markets because we could easily pay people to do it for us or go wholesale, but we love it! We love connecting with the people in the Bay Area. They really appreciate farmers here and value the experience of getting fresh fruit straight from the farm. We love the satisfaction of looking people in the eye and knowing they appreciate what we do. The people in the Bay Area are truly wonderful. 

Farming as a family affair

The entire family is very involved in the business, especially around blueberry season. We each have our own jobs, and I am mostly the logistics person. Now that our daughters are married, my sons-in-law help my husband in the fields every day and help me with logistics and delivery. Every weekend, the whole family is around to help with all the markets. It is definitely a family affair, and we are all all-in during the season. We have grand-babies now too, and when they get older, I think they’ll carry on the business as a seventh-generation farm.

Learn more

Listen to the full podcast episode with Kim to learn more about Triple Delight Blueberries, visit their website to see where you can purchase their berries, and find them on Instagram at @tdberries.

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