SALINAS, CA - On Friday, July 18th, Tanimura & Antle's mascot, Captain T&A, will be racing against other mascots from a host of other Salinas produce industry leaders in the California Rodeo Salinas Vegetable Race to support the Ag Against Hunger non-profit. Since the 1990's, Ag Against Hunger has been coordinating deliveries of surplus produce from growers to 30 food bank partners locally and throughout the West Coast, and to schools through the More Produce for Schools program.
“Ag Against Hunger is an incredible non-profit organization that without a doubt every produce company can and should contribute to in some way or another,” said Ashley Pipkin, Junior Marketing Project Coordinator with Tanimura & Antle. “In the first year alone 400,000 lbs of produce was distributed.”
Each organization donates an entry fee of $1,000 in order to participate in the mascot race, funds which are then directly donated to Ag Against Hunger.
Supporting Ag Against Hunger is just a part of Tanimura & Antle's larger philosophy about community responsibility and sustainability, according to Pipkin. “We at Tanimura & Antle believe that sustainability means maintaining not only the quality of the land, but improving the quality of life in our community,” she told us.
Tanimura & Antle will also be sponsoring the Special Buckaroos Rodeo which gives children with special needs an opportunity to team up with professional cowboys and cowgirls and get a real rodeo experience over the course of the day.
“They receive hats, t-shirts, bandanas, contestant numbers, an awards bag and trophy at the end of the day. They rope cattle 'dummys,' race the barrel pattern on stick horses, get 'bucked' on a rocking horse and bull, and some even are able to ride a live horse accompanied by one of the professional volunteers,” explained Pipkin.
Tanimura & Antle got their inspiration for Captain T&A from traditional American superheroes. They hoped that he would help them bridge the gap between fresh produce consumption and the athleticism and strength which superheroes stand for.
To learn more about the Tanimura & Antle at the California Rodeo Salinas Vegetable Race you can visit the California Rodeo Salinas' homepage.
