By Regina Pozzi
Sonoma-Marin Young Farmers and Ranchers volunteered at the Redwood Empire Food Bank for their April Meeting, participating in the “Harvest for All” program. Harvest for All is a partnership between the American Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers & Ranchers program, “Feeding America,” and local food charities.
Since Harvest for All began in 2003, Farm Bureau members have gathered nearly 65 million pounds of food, logged more than 30,000 volunteer hours, and raised more than $778,000 in donations to local food banks, according to American Farm Bureau.
Each year, state YF&R programs can compete for cash prizes in the following categories: Food (most pounds donated), Funds (most money donated), Friends (most hours volunteered), and Most Innovative (awarded to three states whose unique Harvest for All activities encourage participation and can be easily replicated in other states).
Sonoma-Marin YF&R normally participates in Harvest for All by donating time at one of their monthly meetings throughout the year, purchasing an animal at a Junior Livestock Auction for donation to a food bank, and participating in volunteer opportunities at CAFB and AFBF conferences throughout the year.
After volunteering at the Food Bank, YF&Rs went to Bisordi’s Ranch for dinner and a YF&R meeting. Thank you, Bisordi’s, for hosting.
6:30 pm on the third Wednesday of the month is the regularly scheduled meeting time for Sonoma-Marin YF&R; the summer line-up looks fun! May will be Crane Ranch and June or July will have farm tours in addition to regular meetings and volunteering at the SCFB Golf Tournament and MCFB Western Weekend BBQ. July is a YF&R softball game with Napa YF&R and volunteering at SCFB Love of the Land.
Sunday, July 30th, is the YF&R Sporting Clays Shoot, and in August/September Sonoma-Marin will meet up with Mendocino YF&R at one of our regular meetings. YF&R is a Farm Bureau committee for 18-35-year-old people in agriculture; check social media for the most current activities or email sonomamarinyfr@gmail.com to be added to our mailing list.
