On August 20th, 2022, Greater Temecula Valley AYLUS (GTVA) President Ally Negulescu (3 hours) and a brand new little bundle of joy Hanya Yu (3 hours) volunteered, toured, and slayed at their local farm to help harvest produce. And did you know that all of the produce grown from this project is donated directly to the Temecula Community Mission of Hope for distribution to other local food pantries in our region and Fallbrook!
This entire morning was a blessing. Literally. After volunteering at the farm for a year already, there’s never been a day where it was cloudy and cold up until 10:30 am. But it just so happens that today, which happened to be our newest member Hanya’s first day, the sky was completely covered with clouds and there was a steady temperature of around low-80’s. Members arrived at the scene of the farm slightly earlier than usual and started off to work right away. First, Ally explained how the sign in sheet works, and then, a small tour of the large farm begun. Along with picking the rest of the zucchinis for the season, the onions, watermelons, pumpkins, and other crops all got paid a visit from us.
After a quick water break and bonding with the 2 dogs that roam the farm, members were sent over to the tomato plants as backup. Various tomatoes were harvested, including overly ripe and squishy ones with worms crawling around inside. Instead of stacking them in layers on the crate to be able to transport them quicker, we instead had to fill the crate with only one layer to prevent damaging the tomatoes. Over 10 crates were harvested in one day alone, and only a few were chucked off the ravine. Soon after that, members checked out for the day and cleaned up to head home! The first day with our new member went really smoothly, and we can’t wait for the next one!
