HMC Farms has expanded on its program designed to get more grapes into the hands of school kids. The company has recently launched a new website, "Grapes for Schools", which is the newest addition to the program. According to the company, the website is designed to act as resource for everyone involved in the nutrition of students, which can include parents, teachers, foodservice providers as well as the students themselves.
"We've been involved in grapes for schools since 1979 when we introduced the 'Lunch Bunch'™ portioned grapes," said Steve Kenfield of HMC Farms. "Then in the 90s, we went to Chile and formed partnerships to enable a year-round program for the grapes for our school initiatives. In order for it to become a success, we had to understand how children were having access to fresh fruit and provide the right information accordingly. We have added on to our capabilities over the years and the new website is a continuation of this. We not only want to provide quality fruit, but also the right information with useful tools, and this was the thought behind the new website."
Grape season begins well
With the launch of the new website now complete, HMC Farms have commenced their 2018 grape season. The weather has been favorable, with fruit quality showing better potential than last year's crop, according to Kenfield. "The weather in the San Joaquin Valley has been excellent to date, leading to the condition of the fruit to be significantly better than at this point last year," he said.
As a result, the harvest has started positively. The company are also upbeat about the condition of their vines. "We are in the fortunate position that a significant proportion - around 80 percent - of our grapes have been planted in the last five years," Kenfield shared. "The season has started well and we are predicting a good crop to market throughout the season."
Early varieties performing well
Some of the early grape varieties for HMC include the Ivory and Krissy, which entered full production after mid July. This will be followed by a mix of green and red varieties. HMC Farms are also excited for some of their newer varieties, particularly the Allison, which is headed for its third harvest this year.
"The season has started well on the Ivory and Krissy, as it moves onto subsequent varieties," Kenfield observed. "Ivory, Valley Pearl and Great Green are some of the green varieties that have really hit their stride. The early crop of the Timco and Krissy are also looking very good. This year marks the third harvest for our Allison grapes. This is a later, red seedless grape with a great crunch and bite. It's an excellent quality grape which provides a wonderful eating experience and we are excited to offer them again this year."
For more information:
Liz Pina
HMC Farms
Tel: +1 (559) 897-6696