The California Department of Food and Agriculture Office of Farm to Fork (CDFA-F2F) inspires Californian’s to build stronger relationships with local farmers and the delicious produce they raise. As part of the office’s work managing the California Farm to School Network, and with the help of Specialty Crop Block Grant funding, CDFA-F2F coordinated a series of four field trips for culinary students to visit local farms and experience fresh, California grown products first hand. For many, these experiences will lead to a lifetime love affair with their local farms.

In May, local students from Hooker Oak Elementary school received a visit from Farmer Matt of Pyramid Farms in Chico, California, where they were able to talk about growing organic produce on an eleven-acre farm. After an engaging hour and a half question and answer session, students tasted delicious produce raised right on the local farm. Fresh foods like salad turnips acted as their own marketing committees, and helped students understand the delicious advantage of fresh, seasonal produce.

At the end of the day, each student was able to take home a full bag of salad turnips to share with their families. Thank you Farmer Matt!

Stay tuned for more specialty crop student farm tours in the coming weeks.

– CDFA Farm to Fork Staff

This article is part of a series chronicling the CDFA Office of Farm to Fork’s student farm tours. Made possible by Specialty Crop Block Grant funding, these farm tours aim to increase students’ knowledge of and appreciation for California specialty crops through direct interaction with local specialty crop farmers.