Fruit and Nut Festival Vendor Spotlight: Jars of Delicious
In which I revisit favorite news articles of 2024
Originally published in the Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch on XXX, 2024. The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is part of MidValley Publications - committed to the power of the positive press. Reprinted with Permission.
One hundred vendors lined Hughson Avenue for the two days of the Fruit and Nut Festival, selling commercial, homemade and edible goods. One of those vendors is a Hughson-grown business called Jars of Delicious, founded and managed by Cheree Hill. Jars of Delicious specializes in all types of jams and pie fillings. This year, Jars of Delicious turns ten, and to celebrate, Hill offered a festival special with the opportunity to win free jam for an entire year, two jars of the winner’s choice each month for 12 months.
Jars of Delicious was founded in 2014. Its first market was the Fruit and Nut Festival in May of that year. Hill sold so much jam during the first day that she spent that night making more to keep her booth open through Sunday.
Hill now sells at over 50 markets and fairs yearly and five different farmer’s markets during the season. Jars of Delicious is sold in 30 brick-and-mortar stores from Fresno to Sacramento, including J&J Ramos Fruit Stand in Hughson. There are now 175 options, most of which are familiar classics, with some “extra fun ones in as well because we live in the valley where you can have every local fruit under the sun,” Hill said.
Hill processes nearly 900 lbs. of blueberries and 3000 lbs. of apricots in a year. She uses local fruit when it's in season and stocks several standing upright freezers with fruit processed at its peak in her shop.
But like most small, locally owned businesses, Hill began Jars of Delicious with an inspiration and a need. That inspiration was Peggy Hill, Cheree Hill’s mother-in-law. Every year, they canned peaches together. The project soon became more about the process than the product. When Peggy Hill was diagnosed with cancer, the canning parties became the occasion to spend time with her in her last days. Peggy moved in with Cheree, who acted as her caregiver. For Peggy’s celebration of life, Cheree and her sisters-in-law canned 300 half-pint jars of peach jam, apricot-pineapple jam and strawberry jam to “toast Mama Peggy.” Hill said, “We wanted her celebration of life to truly be a celebration.” Peggy was a model of “living life to the fullest.”
No longer acting as a caregiver for her mother-in-law, Hill faced a transition. Her oldest daughter was in school, and two little ones were home with her. People had begun to ask Hill how to get more jam.
At that time, the California Homemade Food Act, or Cottage Food Law, came into effect, making it possible for small businesses to have their home kitchens approved to produce specific low-risk food products for sale. Hill’s kitchen was approved in May 2014. She got canning and signed up to sell at the 2014 Hughson Fruit and Nut Festival. Pressed to choose a name, her daughter, Janet, offered the idea, “It’s just a jar of delicious,” and the name stuck.
Hill began selling at the Thursday Modesto Farmer’s Market and added more products and markets to her business each year. The Cottage Foods Law made it possible for her to start small and scale up as her business grew.
Soon enough, Hill outgrew her license, and it was time to find that commercial kitchen. The year was 2020. She began to rent space at a commercial kitchen in Riverbank. Farmer’s Markets were deemed essential and permitted to continue operations. Even as most businesses struggled to stay afloat, Jars of Delicious grew.
Roberts Ferry Nut Company was the first store to carry Jars of Delicious. From there, the business continued to grow.
“It’s a hobby that I’ve always enjoyed, but a business I fell into organically. When it grows on its own, it really feels like it's meant to be.”
The cottage food business enabled her to stay home with her children when they were small, help in the classroom, attend field trips with them and contribute to fundraisers in the community. She has employed college-age youth to work at markets and learn the necessary skills in a public-facing business.
To entrepreneurs just starting out, Hill says, “Small business owners want other small business owners to succeed. Even if we have identical products, that isn’t going to stop me from helping someone get their foot in the door. You don’t know what you don’t know. Call people to ask questions.”
Hill credits her hometown of Hughson for helping make all this possible. “Hughson is a town that supports its members,” she said.
And if you’re wondering which jar of deliciousness to try for yourself, Hill’s favorite with her morning toast is blueberry lemonade or strawberry guava, both of which combine a little tartness with the sweetness. Her children love her blueberry jam and Hawaiian jam, which is a coconut-mango-pineapple blend and a market favorite.
There will be more ways to celebrate Jars of Delicious’s tenth anniversary. Visit Jarsofdeclicious.com for more information.
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