The birds are housed in one of seven houses, each with 6,000-7,000 square feet. Cage free- the chickens are free to roam inside the "house" but are not allowed outside because the ranch is located within a flight pattern of Avian influenza. In an effort to avoid diseases, the birds must stay indoors, which is cleared through the State of California. Everything is automated by a machine- feeding, drinking and even the gathering system to collect the eggs. They employ workers, who begin the day at 6 in the morning. Normal workday routines include: checking on the birds, maintaining and ensuring everything is going smoothly, and collecting eggs in the morning and evening.

Though the eggs are not organic, the Corbins are thoughtful about what the chickens eat, explaining, "What makes the egg taste good is what you feed the bird." The food is comprised of 90% corn mash mix with a minimal amount of medication to keep the birds healthy and steroids are not given to the birds. Many customers say there is a taste difference between the brown and white eggs sold each week at the Farmers' Market but Diana insists, "The color difference has nothing to do with taste, it's simply a different [chicken] breed."

Breeding chickens is an investment of time, money and resources because chickens don't begin producing eggs until they're 16-18 weeks old or about 4 months. On average, a chicken produces seven eggs a week and with their size flock, Corbin estimates 60,000 eggs are produced per day. They sell a majority of there eggs to a distributor who serves Los Angeles County. To diversify their revenue stream, Great Valley has been selling eggs at several Farmers Markets in the Greater Bay Area for the last six years and joined CCCFM in 2009. Eggs are freshest at the Farmers' Market, often gathered the day before! You don't get fresher eggs unless you're raising chickens in your backyard. Just as customers enjoy the direct connection of knowing who grows their food, Farmers like knowing whose eating their food. Corbin shares one of the delights of selling at the markets, "You know where your eggs are going, but when you sell to a distributor you don't know who is eating your eggs."

If you're wondering what happens to the bird at the end of it's egg producing life, typically 80 weeks or about a year and half, the birds are sold whole to the Asian market for their meat, leaving nothing left to waste.

Visit Great Valley Poultry eggs every Sunday in Walnut Creek.

Passionate about good food, Lynn Kutsal and Tina Steele of Nature's Bounty Café in Antioch are bringing their delicious- all organic- creations to the Farmers Market. With years of experience in the food industry, Lynn managed the Duck Club Restaurant in Lafayette and worked in a plethora of restaurants in Sonoma County. Tina has a background in Nutrition, Genetics and Accounting, making them a perfect duo for making delicious fresh and wholesome food to the Farmers' Market.

Best friends, Lynn and Tina started a small Co-op for organic and natural foods in East County in the mid-nineties and served thirty-three families at the Co-op's peak. As life changed, Lynn and Tina decided on offering a home delivery service of freshly prepared dinners- a whole organic meal in cooler box dropped off at your door. The customer would only have to reheat and eat. A kitchen was built to prepare all the food and as a side business, they put out a few tables and chairs. Ironically, the home delivery service never took off, but Lynn says, "The Cafe took on a life of its own and within the first few months of being open, they had request for catering and doing weddings." As the economy shifts, Nature's Bounty Café stays inspired and motivated by serving their communities with good, wholesome food.

Sourcing organic and local produce has been a high priority since Nature's Bounty Café opened its doors in 2005. Buying organically for a restaurant and catering scale operation required effort and determination. They source: produce from a distributor based in Sacramento and Shasta, dairy from a company in Petaluma and coffee from Sebastopol. Getting bread was a challenge as no one delivers to East County, but undeterred, she arranged for Bay Bread of San Francisco to Fed Ex bread overnight- where half is cooked in San Francisco, and half is cooked at the Café. They purchase produce from Farmers Markets as often as possible. In the summer, they buy basil by the truckload from Knoll Farms in Brentwood. Pesto, used in many of their wraps, sandwiches and pasta salads, is made in huge quantities and frozen to last the duration of the year when basil is not in season.

Seasonal soups, wraps and sandwiches, including their famous chicken salad sandwich with Fuji apples and sweet and spicy walnuts, are offered each week at the market. They also offer a hot breakfast of Yukon gold potatoes, eggs, fresh salsa and cheese during the morning hours. Lynn and Tina are delighted to participate, "we love being at the Farmers' Market and seeing people come back each week." Their business philosophy is a reflection of their values- "providing ethical, nutritious and healthy food to our communities and to cater to the mainstream by bridging the gap between people who don't understand organics to people who only eat organic food." Keeping their menu simple and affordable is one way they are able to reach a broad customer base and maintain there motto of Fresh Organic Whole Foods!

Visit Nature's Bounty Café at the Market every Sunday in Walnut Creek and Thursdays in Lafayette opening May 6-September. Come taste their delicious dinner menu!