We finally were able to finish picking/glean the fields on Orange County Produce farm land
at the Great Park. 25 volunteers came out and enjoyed the weather in Irvine while helping
to feed the community by cleaning the farmers field. We continued to glean the cabbage
we didn’t get the weekends before along with celery today. AG Kawamura
owner of Orange County Produce who’s farm we harvest/gleaned (BIO)
A.G. Kawamura
Secretary, California Department of Food and Agriculture
“A.G. Kawamura is widely respected for his experience as a third-generation
grower and shipper. His depth of knowledge of California’s agricultural
industry will be vital to restoring the California dream.”
— Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Governor Schwarzenegger appointed A.G. Kawamura as secretary of the
California Department of Food and Agriculture in November 2003. Secretary
Kawamura is a produce grower and shipper from Orange County, where his family grows strawberries,
green beans and other specialty crops. As an urban agriculturist, he has a lifetime of experience working
along and within the expanding urban boundaries of Southern California.
He began his agricultural career as a beekeeper, and was a roadside stand operator before entering into
his family business as a produce salesman for Western Marketing Company of California. In 1978, he
managed sales and exports for eight years before transitioning to the production side of the company. In
1996, Western Marketing Company became Orange County Produce, LLC, which he founded with his
brother, Matthew. He managed the company’s growing and harvesting operations.
Secretary Kawamura has a long history of public service to his community and to agriculture. At the time
of his appointment, he was a member of the California State Board of Food and Agriculture, where he
had served since 1998. He is the immediate past chairman of the Agricultural Technical Advisory
Committee, a USDA advisory position for international trade.
In addition, Secretary Kawamura has served as president of the Orange County Farm Bureau, chairman
of Western Growers Association, and president of the Orange County Agricultural Association. He has
also served as a director on the boards of the California Strawberry Commission and the California Celery
Research Advisory Board. He was a founding trustee of Sage Hill High School in Orange County.
Secretary Kawamura is widely known for his passion for education and his commitment to the issues of
hunger and nutrition. As president of Orange County Harvest, a nonprofit promoting agricultural
partnerships with organizations combating hunger, he arranged for thousands of volunteers to harvest
and glean over a million pounds of produce for area food banks. His nationally recognized urban projects,
such as the 7-acre Common Ground project in San Juan Capistrano and 4-acre Incredible Edible Park in
Irvine, are agricultural paradigms linking nutritional education and interaction with local schools and food
banks.
Secretary Kawamura has received numerous awards and recognition for his work in and outside the
agricultural community. Highlights include:
• Pacific Pioneer Award: Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, 2004
• Orange County Second Harvest Food Bank: Humanitarians Against Hunger Award, 2000
• California Hunger Action Coalition: Hunger Fighter Award, 2000
• Sustainable Northwest: Founders of a New Northwest, 1999
• California Association of Nurserymen: Education Award, 1995-96
• California Junior Chamber of Commerce: Outstanding Young Californian, 1991
Secretary Kawamura has a bachelor’s degree in comparative literature from U.C. Berkeley.
We will be out at the Great Park with a small crew Saturday 2nd to receive celery and then
in the next two weeks if all goes well lettuce.
New Beginnings Community Church…
Group Picture…
We’ve Got Your Back is a weekend nutrition program created by Giving Children Hope for students in the Orange County Unified School District who have been identified as homeless under the McKinney-Vento act.
These children also take part in the free and reduced lunch program at their schools. For most of these children, the school cafeteria is their primary source of nutrition. Many return home on Friday to a household without food. This is where Giving Children Hope and the Orange County Unified School District partner together to alleviate hunger among our children in Orange County.
Giving Children Hope distributes backpacks weekly to elementary schools. There, a site coordinator distributes each backpack confidentially to every student in the program. This continues throughout the entire school year. The program is presented to the children as a Weekend Nutrition Club, instead of the “We’ve Got Your Back” program. Our first priority is to maintain and uphold the dignity and self-esteem of the children. Students in the weekend nutrition club will receive a weekly activity sheet that will pertain to nutrition. This activity sheet is returned every week in each backpack and is the students’ responsibility. Children who return their activity sheets will be rewarded. With the assistance of a school site coordinator from your school, the distribution of backpacks and the collection of empty ones can be facilitated in a simple and time efficient manner.
Saddleback Church volunteers…
Volunteer Pictures…
PICTURE OF THE DAY…
Video of today’s event…
Arthur Gen “A.G.” Kawamura is the former California Secretary of Agriculture where he served from 2003 to 2010. He is a third generation fruit and vegetable grower and shipper from Orange County. He is the co-chair of Solutions From the Land, a UN Foundation funded project that is developing a sustainable roadmap for 21st century agricultural systems. He is a national steering committee member of 25 x ‘25, a renewable energy coalition of farm, forest, conservation and environmental leaders focused on the multiple benefits and contributions that can be delivered from the agricultural and rural sectors of America. He participates as a member of the Native Pollinators Advisory Committee.
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