California Fresh Exhibit: Celebrating the Bounty of Our Counties.
This special exhibit was created to educate consumers and highlight the state’s diverse specialty crops. The exhibit was developed as part of the California Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. At the end of the fair, the California Fresh exhibit will be on tour educating the public.
The exhibit will feature chef demonstrations and culinary experts sharing information on the benefits of these healthy and tasty crops grown in the state’s 58 counties, along with preparation tips.
Michael Marks will demonstrate on stage and introduce the culinary guests on stage. He will discuss the California crops and benefits of eating healthy.
California is called the Golden State for many reasons, one being the bountiful specialty crops produced here. These crops include fruit and tree nuts, vegetables, herbs and spices, floriculture and horticulture crops.
Specialty crops are grown and used for food, medicinal purposes and/or aesthetics or beautification in landscaping and more. These crops include the nutritionally delicious almonds and celery in school lunches, olives on your pizza, garlic and ginger that flavors your dinner, cut flowers in holiday centerpieces, trees in the park, and herbs in your medicine.
California produces more than 400 different commodities, many of which are specialty crops. They’re all around us! The goal of the exhibit is to educate consumers about the many benefits of these amazing crops, to promote healthy eating habits and to teach fairgoers about finding locally sourced produce and more.