Bruce Taylor
Taylor Farms, 150 Main St. #300, Salinas (877) 323-7374, taylorfarms.com
Have you ever thought about buying a head of lettuce, then considered all the effort entailed in processing it for a simple salad—the tearing, the washing, the drying—and decided instead to buy a bag of lettuce? Don’t be ashamed, you get credit for eating a salad. And you are supporting a local visionary. The brand Fresh Express led the world in developing bagged salad in the 1980s, followed by full-on salad kits with all the fixings. And Bruce Taylor, CEO of Taylor Farms, who led the development of Fresh Express, is the true definition of an industry leader. Not only did he innovate in a major way that changed all of our kitchens, he’s deeply involved in his community. (Check out the “Around Town” section; Weekly readers also voted Taylor as the Best Do-Gooder.) And as for the company under his leadership, it continues to grow and thrive. Even Walmart, a super-mega-giant, recognized Taylor Farms as its 2022 supplier of the year. That’s a big nod from a big player.