Let's share our appreciation for locally grown fruits and veggies

I took the photo above with my iPhone this morning, inspired by this week’s Farm Fresh theme on Picture Fresno. A good photographer would probably tell me that the lighting (from our office fluorescents) was a little distracting from the subject: stone fruit from RIPENOW.

But you know what? I like my picture, so I'm sharing it with you.

James gets RIPENOW shipments sent to our office bi-weekly. Not only is the fruit beautiful, it makes me proud to live in a Valley where incredible, delicious produce is so abundant. I like my picture because it reminds me how close we are to food sources that play a huge role in feeding our world.

I remember being in a market in The Netherlands several years ago, making weird faces at the gross fruit on display (I was 15 and learning that expressing my true feelings through facial expressions probably wasn’t the most polite thing to do). Our new Dutch friends were delighted at the selection of the day. The lettuce was brown and limp, and they eagerly added it to their baskets. That was the first time my eyes were open to the luxuries we have locally in our fresh food selections. We live in an area where we literally do not even need to leave the comfort of our own homes (or office, in my case) to eat fresh, gorgeous, juicy fruit from a nearby farm. In addition, we can easily grow our own peaches, nectarines, plums, and more in our own backyards. I am still amazed by that fact.

My little stone fruit picture above represents life and freedom that I know I take for granted way too often. I have friends originally from El Salvador that give their family members fresh fruit for Christmas, because it represents vitality and wealth to them. Now, living in Fresno, they have an abundance of fruit on their table every day and none of it ever goes to waste. I admire their appreciation of locally grown produce.

This weekend, I’m taking my mom to Trelio’s Stone Fruit Cooking Class as a birthday gift. If you haven't been, it's a great time. Chef Mike Shackelford prepares a three-course menu while you sip wine, take notes, learn fun cooking tips, and laugh - a lot. He’ll be using apricots, peaches, nectarines and more. He does such a fantastic job at incorporating the fresh local fruits and vegetables into both the dishes he prepares for the restaurant and his cooking classes. In fact, last week’s segment on KFSR’s Flavors of the Valley included a live interview during his boysenberry class. Of course, I’ll be capturing the delicious moments with my trusty iPhone.

Whether you take photos like me with your phone or you have a particularly wonderful knack for photography, I challenge you to share with the community your take on Farm Fresh. Do you want to show us the farmworkers you pass every morning on your way to work? Your grandmother’s devotion to her tomato plants? A dish you prepared using local fresh ingredients? Let’s proudly display the story of our local agriculture together.