18th Annual Organic Stone Fruit Jubilee Celebrates Small Organic Farmers in the Central Valley
Get a taste of small-town, small-farm life at the Organic Stone Fruit Jubilee. Photo courtesy of EcoFarm
The San Joaquin Valley is a fruit basket for the world. It also has some of the highest concentration of pesticides and herbicides anywhere, and Central Valley families all live with the consequences. The excessive tillage also contributes to the serious carbon imbalance that creates the conditions for huge wildfires and drought.
At the same time small organic family farmers have been working to change the way food is grown, shouldering their responsibility as stewards of the earth while producing some of the sweetest stone fruit (peaches, plums, nectarines, apricots and more) without pesticides or other poisons. However, many of them are forced to drive hundreds of miles, to LA or San Francisco to sell their fruit, because most of the Valley’s supermarkets purchase fruit from huge distributors which in turn purchase fruit from large industrial-sized farms.
Sketch by artist Cathy Raingarden made on-site at the 2023 Organic Stone Fruit Jubilee Photos courtesy of EcoFarm
Since 2008, organizers of the Organic Stone Fruit Jubilee have been trying to remedy that situation by introducing local consumers to the local organic fruit growers and encouraging them to go to their local retailers to ask them to support these farmers by making their fruit available locally, all in an effort to close that gap and reduce our carbon footprint at the same time!
The event aims to celebrate those who farm in the Central Valley using sustainable and regenerative farming practices, to introduce those farmers to the community they serve, and to create excitement and support in the community for those small farmers struggling to provide healthy food and fight climate change through farming ecologically.
Sketch by artist Cathy Raingarden made on-site at the 2023 Organic Stone Fruit Jubilee Photo courtesy of EcoFarm
The mission of the Organic Stone Fruit Jubilee is to generate increased demand for local, organic, and sustainably grown produce through education and promotion, to support the growth and development of local farms and locally-owned food-related businesses through collaboration, to increase the availability of and access to healthy local food in urban communities, and to educate the public on the health benefits of growing and eating organically produced food through an immersive, family-friendly, fun and entertaining event for the entire community.
This year’s event takes place on Saturday, June 27 from 4 to 7:30pm at the Kingsburg Historical Park at 2321 Sierra Street in Kingsburg. Six organic farmers who grow the most delicious peaches, plums, nectarines, apricots and other varieties of stone fruit will be offering samples of their wonderful fruit. The community is invited to meet the farmers, taste their fruit, and purchase bags of their favorite varieties.
Sketch by artist Cathy Raingarden made on-site at the 2023 Organic Stone Fruit Jubilee
There will be fruit pies, jams, ice pops, and ice cream made from the fruit available for sale, along with food trucks and beer on tap. The Central Valley Master Food Preservers will be doing a jam-making demonstration, there will be live music from “Ripe for Pickin’” and other local musicians, and children will be well entertained with craft activities and much more.
Tickets for this family-friendly event are $10 in advance, free for children 12 and under, and free admission for anyone with an EBT card. More information and advance tickets can be found at fruitjubilee.com.
