Farms

Summer Fruit Guide 2023

By Pia Hinckle on June 9, 2023

Do you remember biting into the first ripe peach of summer? The perfume of the fruit and the feeling of the fuzz in your hand? Summer for many of us is tied to the memory of a perfect piece of fruit. …

Filed Under: Ask the FruitGuys, Farms, Food, FruitGuys News, The FruitLife Tagged With: Angelcots, Blake Carlson, blueberries, bronx grapes, cherries, frecon farms, Fruit World, Mick Klug, Necta Pie, Peach Pies, peaches, stone fruit jam, strawberries, summer fruit, summer fruit guide, summer fruits, suncrest peach, Very Cherry Plums, what fruit is in season, what's in season

The FruitGuys Community Fund 2023 Farm Grantees Announced

By Sheila Cassani on May 16, 2023

Each spring, The FruitGuys Community Fund provides annual grant awards for sustainability projects to small, independent American farms and agricultural nonprofits. We believe small farms are critical …

Filed Under: Farms, FruitGuys News, GoodWorks, The FruitLife

Fruit in Words and Deeds

By Chris Mittelstaedt on April 18, 2023

The struggle and beauty of fruit, its cultivation and care, is a dance of regenerative-impermanence. As we approach Earth Day, I find myself fascinated with the idea that the earth itself gives us …

Filed Under: Farms, FruitGuys News, GoodWorks, The FruitLife Tagged With: community fund, earth day, farm grants, farm stewardship, frecon farms, fruitguys community fund, land stewardship, life cycle, power of fruit, regeneration, sustainability, sustainable farming

Women Growing Change: The Class of 2022 FruitGuys Community Fund Grantees

By Pia Hinckle on May 5, 2022

A diverse group of women farmers dominate the 2022 class of grantees for The FruitGuys Community Fund, the nonprofit’s 10th year of providing grants to small farms and agricultural nonprofits that …

Filed Under: Farms, FruitGuys News, GoodWorks, The FruitLife Tagged With: 5 loaves farm, agricultural leaders, agroecology commons, BIPOC farmers, boston area gleaners, carlson's island view orchard, cooperation operation, costello urban farm, earthseed farm, farm to fight hunger, fruitguys community fund, Grants, huerta del valle, movement ground farm, over the moon farm and flowers, philly forests, red h farm, sakari farms, small family farm, small farms, Small Grants Big Impacts, songhaven farm, soul flower farm, stonefield farm, sustainability, urban food forest at brown mill community garden

Featured Farm: Fruit World

By Pia Hinckle on December 3, 2021

Fruit World is famous for its extraordinary Sky Ranch Mandarins, a clementine grown on farmer Bianca Kaprielian’s grandfather’s ranch, which sits atop one of the area’s tallest foothills and is named …

Filed Under: Farms, FruitGuys News Tagged With: california citrus farmers, california family farms, citrus, family farms, Farms, Fruit World, mandarins, Sky Ranch Mandarins

Winter Citrus Guide

By Pia Hinckle on December 1, 2021

Winter is the peak of the citrus season. Officially beginning on the winter solstice (December 21), the bright shades of orange, red, pink, yellow and green of citrus add brightness and light to the …

Filed Under: Diet and Health, Farms, Food, FruitGuys News, Nutrition, Produce Glossary, Recipes, The FruitLife Tagged With: beet and orange salad, blood orange vinagrette, california citrus, california citrus farmers, cara cara orange, citrus, citrus farmers, finger limes, grapefruit, heirloom oranges, how to eat mandarinquat, how to use citrus, lemons, navel oranges, Orange sale, oranges, winter citrus, winter fruit guide, winter fruit salad

Announcing The FruitGuys Community Fund 2021 Farm Grantees

By The FruitGuys on August 5, 2021

Despite funding setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, The FruitGuys Community Fund, a nonprofit founded by office fruit delivery pioneers and certified B Corp The FruitGuys, is pleased to announce …

Filed Under: Farms, FruitGuys News, GoodWorks, The FruitLife Tagged With: 2021 grantees, 4MG Farm, Petaluma Bounty, Sankofa Community Farm, small farms, Small Grants Big Impacts, The FruitGuys Community Fund, The FruitGuys GoodWorks

First Farm Visit of 2021: Rancho Charanda

By Miguel Esteban Robles on March 3, 2021

I visited Paul Rodriguez's farm, Rancho Charanda, in Redlands, CA on February 24, 2021. I had been worried about taking the time because of all of my other responsibilities in the office, but …

Filed Under: Farms, FruitGuys News, GoodWorks, The FruitLife Tagged With: farm visits, fruitguys community fund, nopales, rancho charanda, small farms, southern california farms, sustainable agrculture, xoconostle

Rebecca North Honored by EcoFarm

By Pia Hinckle on February 5, 2021

Rebecca North, The FruitGuys Senior Buyer and chief Fruit Detective, has been awarded the prestigious 2021 Golden Pliers Award from the Ecological Farming Association (EcoFarm). According to …

Filed Under: Farms, FruitGuys News, GoodWorks, The FruitLife Tagged With: diversity in farming, ecofarm, ecofarm 2021, equity in farming, golden pliers award, small farms, sustainable agriculture, sustainable food systems, women in agriculture

Farm Grantees Make Progress Despite Pandemic

By The FruitGuys Community Fund on September 18, 2020

The FruitGuys Community Fund 2020 grantee farms have sent us their interim updates, and in spite of the pandemic, these farms and organizations have done some incredible work! These 15 small farms and …

Filed Under: Farms, GoodWorks, The FruitLife Tagged With: family farmers, Farms, microgrants, pollinators, small farms, support small farms, sustainable agriculture, The FruitGuys Community Fund, wind power

Bernard Ranches is in a Fight to Save its Business and its Citrus Trees

By Pia Hinckle on August 23, 2020

“I had a terrible dream one night,” says Vince Bernard, founder and farmer of Bernard Ranches, who has watched the COVID crisis cut into his sales so much that he may not be able to afford to water …

Filed Under: Farms, FruitGuys News Tagged With: Bernard Ranches, citrus farms, COVID-19 crisis, farmers, heirloom oranges, orange trees, oranges, Valencia oranges, Vince Bernard, water

The 2020 FruitGuys Community Fund Grantees

By The FruitGuys Community Fund on May 13, 2020

During the COVID-19 crisis, small farms are showing once again just how essential they are to keeping our local communities fed, healthy, and functioning. The FruitGuys Community Fund is excited to …

The FruitGuys Response to COVID-19

By The FruitGuys on March 5, 2020

March 2020 We will get to the other side of this---together. We wish you, your employees, your vendors, your customers, and their families the best, and especially good health. Please let us know of …

Filed Under: Ask the FruitGuys, Diet and Health, Farms, Fitness, Food, FruitGuys News, GoodWorks, The FruitLife, WorkLife

Eat the Endangered Gravenstein Apple

By Pia Hinckle on August 1, 2019

“Farming is a complex math problem,” sighs Dave Hale as he looks sadly at piles of wood chips that had been Gravenstein apple trees in the lot next to his thriving Sebastopol, CA, orchard. He tended …

Filed Under: Farms, Food, GoodWorks, Recipes, The FruitLife Tagged With: dave hale, Farms, Gravenstein Apple, Gravenstein apple farmer, John Kolling, lee walker, orchards, Sebastopol farmers, slow food ark of taste, sonoma county, stan devoto

Deadly Harvest

By Elisabeth Flynn on August 15, 2018

The Farm-to-Table movement of the last decade has celebrated local farmers and their rural lifestyle. Sustainable farming is a wholesome and noble occupation that provides nutritious whole foods to an …

Filed Under: Farms, FruitGuys News

The Little Apple That Could

By Heidi Lewis on July 27, 2016

Around the small Northern California town of Sebastopol, you see bumper stickers of all kinds. From the political to the apolitical to cosmic questions such as “What if the hokeypokey is what it’s all …

Filed Under: Farms, FruitGuys News

Live from the Hedgerow

By Shannan Slevin on June 29, 2016

Embracing the dry June heat of San Joaquin County is a small price to pay when exploring the grounds of Lagier Ranches. This 120-acre family-run farm in Escalon, CA, is rich in trees and small fruits: …

Filed Under: Farms, FruitGuys News Tagged With: Escalon, fruitguys community fund, Lagier Ranches, pollinator hedgerow, sustainable

Apples for All

By Heidi Lewis on December 16, 2015

To satisfy the sharp desire I had Of tasting those fair apples, I resolved Not to defer; hunger and thirst at once / Powerful persuaders, quicken'd at the scent Of that alluring fruit, …

Filed Under: Farms, FruitGuys News Tagged With: apples, diversity, judging apples, variety

Winter on the Farm

By Heidi Lewis on November 10, 2015

In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy. —William Blake Winter is finally here in drought-stricken California, and we’ve gotten a break from all that balmy, summerlike weather we’ve …

Filed Under: Farms, FruitGuys News Tagged With: california drought, rain, storm, winter on the farm

From Law to Lambs

By Heidi Lewis on September 18, 2015

“Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you’re a thousand miles from a cornfield.” —Dwight D. Eisenhower Dick Blair and Betty Hui are second-career farmers. Blair spent 35 years …

Filed Under: Farms, FruitGuys News Tagged With: bear track farm, lambs, local farm