The Alliance for Food and Farming’s (AFF) 2023 Safe Fruits and Veggies Farm Tour will take place from August 21 to August 23 and will return to California’s Monterey Peninsula.  The tour will feature leafy greens and berry crops as well as highlight tech innovations on farms and in processing facilities.

These tours provide nutrition communicators and social influencers a firsthand look at the care and commitment by farmers and farming companies to grow, harvest and deliver safe and nutritious fruits and vegetables to consumers.

The 2023 tour guests are contributors to the Today Show, Good Morning America, New York Times, Washington Post, ABC News, Shape, Parents, Martha Stewart, Eating Well,  Food Network, Self, Prevention, People and CNN, among others.  In addition to their significant reach in mainstream media, they have over four million combined followers on social media.

The AFF’s list of tour guests include: Mascha Davis, Maya Feller, Amy Gorin, Rachel Hartley, Malina Malkani, Andrea Mathis, Marisa Moore, Kylie Sakaida and Lauren Twigge.

This is the AFF’s sixth tour conducted since 2017.  This year’s tour will begin with a visit to a leafy greens farm to see the harvest followed by a firsthand view of leafy greens processing at Taylor Farms foodservice facility in Salinas.  Tour guests will enjoy a dinner at the iconic Earthbound Farm Stand in Carmel Valley to end their first day.

Day two will feature strawberry, raspberry, blueberry and blackberry farms followed by a visit to California Giant Berry Farms cooler in the Watsonville area.

The AFF extends sincere thanks to the sponsors who are making this tour possible including California Giant Berry Farms, the California Strawberry Commission, the Grower Shipper Association of Central California, Earthbound Farms, the International Fresh Produce Association, Taylor Farms and Western Growers Association.  Sponsor representatives will participate in all aspects of the tour to provide their expertise and information to the AFF guests.

To help advance the AFF’s mission of providing credible, science-based information, Dr. Trevor Suslow, Extension Research Specialist Emeritus, UC Davis, and Dr. Carl Winter, Extension Food Toxicologist Emeritus, UC Davis, will also be joining the tour so guests have access to their food safety, regulatory and toxicology knowledge throughout the experience.

We often say we wish every consumer could see the diligent work of fruit and vegetable farmers and their commitment to food safety.  These tours provide the opportunity to share that work with influencers who reach millions of consumers through their websites, articles, media appearances, blogs, books, podcasts and social media channels.

The guests will communicate their on-farm experiences with their audiences during and after the tour. So stay tuned for social posts and blogs from our guests, sponsors and the AFF in August. #safefruitsandveggies, @safeproduce.