“People know they are getting our blood, sweat and tears in every baguette. We are hands on all the way,” explains Pearl Bakery production manager Jared Lester.

Pearl Bakery founder Eric Lester bestows importance on family, community and sustainability to stand apart and together as a company. When Eric considers sustainability, he moves from the individual ingredients in his dough to the livelihood of his workers, and local community.

With co-owner and wife Mary at his side, they’ve formed essential relationships with local farms to source quality ingredients from Portland Farmers Markets and Millennium Farms in Washington State. Free-range meats, local (rbst-free) butter, regional flour and organic, fair-trade coffee from Batdorf & Bronson set the bakery apart.

Son Jared Lester was surprised to be baking with a degree in electrical engineering, but has found his training in efficiency useful for evolving sustainable practices for the bakery. Bakery manager John Wooley explained to me that the bakery’s sustainable practices include: bicycle delivery, recycling, composting, wind power and biodegradable cleaning products and packaging.

“You are hard pressed to find someone working here who does not have a family member also working here, especially in production. We are working as hard as we can to make sure we are employing as many people as possible. That is at the core of our mission”, explained their son, Jared.