SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY, CA - Bringing registered dietitians, health and nutrition writers, and influencers to California’s beloved San Joaquin Valley, the Alliance for Food and Farming (AFF) hosted its fifth Safe Fruits and Veggies Farm Tour September 12–14. During the tour, participants visited peach, plum, nectarine, and citrus farms, as well as grape vineyards and packing and cooling facilities throughout the agricultural hub.
“This tour allows our guests to experience a day in the life of farming and how farmers and farmworkers work to provide safe and healthy fruits and vegetables every day,” said Kate Tynan, AFF Board Chair and Senior Vice President of the Northwest Horticultural Council. “These influencer tours enhance AFF’s efforts to share our fact-based information with media and consumers about the care and commitment of produce farmers to grow these nutrient-dense foods.”
Guests of the tour included contributors to NBC News, ABC News, Food Network, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Health Magazine, Univision, Fox News Latino, and more, according to a press release.
On the first day, guests visited Porterville Citrus, HMC Farms, and Family Tree Farms, making a stop by Jasmine Vineyards on day two to observe grape harvest and tour its packinghouse and cooling facilities. The tour concluded with a stop by McKellar Family Farms in Ivanhoe.
“We can’t thank these farms and facilities enough for all of their work to share what they do with the AFF guests,” said Ian LeMay, AFF Vice-Chair and President of California Fresh Fruit Association. “This is such a busy time of year for them, and they generously opened their farms and facilities and provided the guests with invaluable information about growing, harvesting, and packing these healthy fruits.”
In addition to the real-time social media posts during the tour, the guest influencers will provide more in-depth content about their experiences and what they learned.
“We heard the word ‘amazing’ quite a bit over the last few days from our tour guests,” said Teresa Thorne, AFF Executive Director. “They were not only impressed by the farmers’ passion for what they do but their resilience, their ingenuity, and pride in providing fruits and vegetables to our nation’s consumers.”
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