By Christine Johnson, Chair, Young Farmers and Ranchers
Thank you to everyone who supported our 9th Annual Charity Farmers Market! This wonderful event is only possible with the help of our generous donors, volunteers, and faithful YF&R members. This year’s farmers market took place on Saturday, July 20 at Chuy’s parking lot on Rosedale Highway. The day turned out to be hot – actually very hot – but thanks to those who loaned us pop-up tents, we kept everything relatively cool under the shade. Our Farmers Market Chair, Christine Etcheverry Root, worked hard to organize and plan for the big day. We hope you were able to stop by, and if not, we’ll be back again next year!
Our donations spanned a wide variety of fruits and vegetables from over 20 local companies, which is a testament to the amazing bounty available from all over Kern County. Donations included staples like onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes, garlic, carrots, lettuce, and almonds. We also had watermelons, strawberries, peaches, pluots, nectarines, raisins, and lots of grapes. Lastly, a few of our specialty items that sold out quickly were the Fukushu Kumquat citrus nursery trees and jars of honey. Is your mouth watering yet?
A significant portion of the proceeds from our market were gifted to a local school garden. This year we chose Country Christian School. Our financial donation will help them build new planter boxes, install irrigation lines, and purchase seeds for the next crop of vegetables. If you are aware of a local school garden in need, please let us know for next year’s consideration. This is a special way for us to encourage the next generation to be a part of the agriculture industry.
Nothing gets wasted when you’re amongst farmers – at the end of the day, we were able to donate the extra produce to the California State University, Bakersfield food pantry. It’s been great to establish a relationship with them over the past few years and play a small part in food security for students in Bakersfield. As a side note, they do accept canned and dry goods donations as well. Stay tuned for a canned food drive in November brought to you by YF&R.
For upcoming events, our group has a tour and social planned at Lengthwise Brewing Company on Friday, September 13 at 7700 District Boulevard. Dinner is included and you just might win a raffle gift card if you bring a friend! As a reminder, YF&R is open to anyone ages 18-35 who works in agriculture or supports agriculture. Please let your friends, family, co-workers, and employees know about us. We offer great opportunities for networking, volunteering, and educational activities. As a bonus, you might just make some new friends along the way.
Finally, one more volunteer opportunity coming up is the Bounty of Kern County on Saturday, October 5. The Young Farmers & Ranchers will assist with set-up, registration, the silent auction, and selling gun raffle tickets throughout the evening. Contact us if you are interested in volunteering!
Email: KernYFR@KernCFB.com
Instagram: @Kern_YFR
Facebook: KernCountyYoungFarmersAndRanchers
