RIPON – Diane Quaresma didn’t quite know what to make of the international almond orders she was receiving.

After just a year of launching California Almonds, LLC – a direct farmer-to-customer almond business intended to serve the domestic market – military service personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan started purchasing shipments with increasing frequency.

So after conferring with her business partners – her husband Daryll and her brother Mike Lawton – Quaresma did what she felt was the right thing.

She sent complimentary individually-wrapped servings to those who placed orders so that they could take the nutrient-rich nuts with them on patrols, spending time out in the field or just looking for something that was more convenient for soldiers, sailors and marines on-the-go.

And it didn’t go unnoticed.

First a letter from Lt. Commander James Brennan – the Officer in Charge of the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan – came thanking the family for their heartfelt and sincere donation. The letter promised a flag that would be flown over the compound at a future date.

Then a package came that contained a pair of United States Flags that were flown over the installation on May 2 along with a colored declaration and a Operation Enduring Freedom challenge coin. It is something that brought tears to her eyes when she opened it up.

“We wanted to give back in some way to the military personnel that are serving our country. We thought that sending one of those packages to the troops that placed an order before would be a good place to start,” she said. “I had no idea that this would be the end result. They sent one for me and one for the business.

“My husband saw my eyes welling up and asked if I was crying – I told him now, it was wind or something like that.”

With nearly 1,000 acres of almonds scattered across Manteca, Ripon, Tracy and Le Grand, the move towards packaging and shipping seemed like a natural progression by keeping California grown almonds here in California and bucking the trend of exporting them to such high-demand countries as India, China and Japan.

And with her background in marketing, her husband’s experience as a farmer and her brother’s knowledge and expertise with the internet, the partnership just naturally lent itself as a way to promote all of the best characteristics of one of the Central Valley’s chief crops.

She knew that a sturdy customer base that appreciated the raw meats for what they were wasn’t going to be far behind.

“They’ve been referred to as ‘the magic pill’ for what they provide in nutritional value but we cover ‘em and cook ‘em and dip ‘em in chocolate and everything else and kind of defeats the purpose,” Quaresma said. “The Bible actually makes a mention of almonds – early on in the Book of Genesis – so they’ve been around for thousands of years.

“And they’re good that way too.”

All orders placed by military personnel overseas are exempt from postage, and flat rates are charged to others based on the size of the box – regardless of how much it weighs.

For additional information, or to place an order today, visit www.caalmonds.com.