One reason to mulch around strawberries in particular is to keep dirt off the fruit. Large scale commercial operations have a history of using black plastic. But you probably won't want to use that in this situation, if it were me I might use wood chips. Maybe only about an inch deep, so it doesn't end up burying the crowns of the strawberry plants.

When you replace the planting later - strawberry plantings may often deteriorate after a few years - you'll probably have some mulch left you have to rake to the side. But the effectiveness of it as a mulch is probably worth this bother.

For additional information about home fruit growing look for the web pages of the USDA Cooperative Extension Service division serving your state. There may also be a branch office nearby, with printed materials available. Extension tends to have a particular emphasis on food production and use.

@Embothrium OK so maybe I'll just lightly mulch around everything so I don't get grass and weeds coming up everywhere and stealing nutrients from my berries? It's pretty cheap, a truckload is $50

It can be deeper on paths and around cane berries. Other than that details involved depend somewhat on which particular material is being considered.

@Embothrium OK, yeah I was going to do the standard wood chip mulch since it breaks down well and can be turned into the soil.

I got my wood chips free from some tree-removal guys... I knew it wasn't diseased wood though.