Eating organic produce can be expensive. While many supermarkets now sell some organic produce, prices can be up to twice that of non-organic produce.
At Fresno State’s organic farm’s “You Pick Saturdays,” organic produce can be picked fresh for just a dollar a pound.
The event occurs on the second and fourth Saturdays of every month and has become a fun event for the surrounding community.
“We have a lot of turnout from the community,” said student volunteer Gary Cannon. “We show them how organic food is grown, and all our organic produce is a dollar a pound. You can’t beat that.”
Seniors often show up early and some are self-proclaimed master gardeners in the Fresno community. These seniors not only buy some of the produce to support the farm, but also share their own experiences from growing organic produce at their homes.
Families also show up, often with young children. Student volunteers take the children through the plot, helping them identify what is growing.
“The next time they come out they get really excited,” Cannon said. “Then, they say for instance, ‘That is a rootlet.’ What 6-year-old can identify a rootlet? Not many. That’s neat.”
You Pick Saturdays are also attended by people in their early 20s and are typically couples. The volunteers help them identify the different crops and the different stages.
“A lot of people that come on a regular basis actually get to see the growing curve of the different produce from the stage where we just planted it, all the way to harvest,” Cannon said.
People can learn the correct way to harvest the different crops and take that knowledge back to their own gardens. Cannon said it empowers them to know what the different crops look like in the ground and how to harvest each one.
The winter harvest is just ending, so in April there will just be lettuce and broccoli during You Pick Saturdays.
“Once May gets here, we’ll be really kicking,” Cannon said. “For April, we have our cold weather crops, which are greens ”” lettuce and broccoli ”” but that’s really on its way out. It really gets going in May though and then all summer long.”
The next You Pick Saturday will be on April 14.