F3 Local

NEWS & UPDATES

Welcome to the F3 Initiative News page, your source for the latest updates and stories about our work transforming agriculture in California's Central Valley. Explore articles across our three gears—F3 Innovate, F3 Local, and AgTEC Workforce—to learn how we’re driving innovation, empowering local farmers, and upskilling workers for a sustainable future. Whether you’re interested in groundbreaking ag-tech research, community-based food systems, or workforce development, there’s something here for everyone.

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What Drives Food Purchases in California’s Central Valley? Insights from 1,000 Consumers

F3 Local surveyed 1,000 consumers across five Central Valley counties to explore their food purchasing habits, motivations, barriers, use of food labels, and perceptions of local and organic products.

9 hours ago

Five Minutes, Big Impact: Consumer Feedback at the Fresno Fair

The F3 Local team brought consumer testing to the Big Fresno Fair. Through four pop-up tests, fairgoers discovered local food products while helping small businesses better understand their customers, and the response was encouraging. The goal was simple: turn consumer feedback into practical insights that help local food entrepreneurs make better business decisions.

Oct 23

Cocina La Salud (Video): Building a Community Kitchen for Fresno's Food Vendors

Cultiva La Salud has broken ground on Cocina La Salud, a community kitchen built to give Fresno's mobile food vendors a permitted, industrial space to prepare and store their food safely and legally. Watch and learn how the kitchen will create a pathway for entrepreneurs to grow from a street cart to a thriving small business, without fear.

Oct 13

Small Farm and Food Business Needs Assessment Report

F3 Local has conducted a needs assessment among small farmers and food entrepreneurs to better understand the technical assistance, infrastructure, regulatory, market-access, and business-development needs across Fresno, Kings, Madera, Merced, and Tulare counties. The goal is to inform programming and to support an economically viable local food system in the Central San Joaquin Valley.

Oct 13

Spotlight: Offer Kindness (Video)

Meet Offer Kindness Inc., a local nonprofit turning surplus produce into an opportunity to help our entire community. Hear from co-founders Aleeza & Simon Berman about how their gleaning events support local growers, prevent food waste, create volunteer opportunities for families, and feed fresh produce to the people in our valley who need it most.

Oct 9

Taste Local: Your Opinion is Needed at the Big Fresno Fair

Join F3 Local and local food entrepreneurs at the Big Fresno Fair on October 9 & 10 for a special consumer tasting experience featuring new products from Central Valley food businesses. Taste flavored almonds, homemade breads, and more - for free - and give us your opinion.

Sep 28

F3 Local Opens Farming Equipment Lending Library at Kearney REC

F3 Local has officially launched its Equipment Lending Library at the Kearney Research and Extension Center in Parlier. Rentable equipment items include tractors, spreaders, mowers, transplanters, weeders and seeders, and more, all available at highly subsidized rates – between $10 and $50 per day, depending on size.

Sep 15

Spotlight: Fire Foods Meal Prep (Video)

Meet Enedina Neves, founder of Fire Foods Meal Prep in Downtown Fresno! When an unexpected shutdown threatened her business, Enedina didn’t give up. She rebuilt—and the F3 Local food team was there to help get Fire Foods back on track.

Sep 8

Demolition Begins on Fresno’s Long-Awaited Commercial Kitchen

The first phase of development launched for a long-awaited community kitchen for Fresno’s mobile food vendors, starting with the demolition of a property on Fresno Street where local nonprofit Cultiva La Salud plans to build up the kitchen over the next year.

Sep 3

New Nonprofit 'Offer Kindness' Rescues Food and Feeds it to the Community

Learn about the new nonprofit organization, Offer Kindness, that gleans local produce from going to waste and distributes it to hungry neighbors. Along with other donation channels, gleaning offers a remedy for on-farm food loss by harvesting crops that producers cannot or choose not to sell.

Aug 2

Business Launchpad for Farmers, Ranchers, & Food Vendors (Fall 2026)

Are you a small- to mid-size food or farm business that needs help with your business finances or operations? Apply today for Business Launchpad - Growing Resilient Roots For Food, Farm and Ranch Businesses. We are recruiting up to 40 participants across the state to be part of a 9-week virtual cohort in Fall 2026.

Jul 20

Organic Stone Fruit Jubilee & Small Farm Expo (Video)

The 18th Annual Organic Stone Fruit Jubilee & Small Farm Expo brought hundreds of visitors to Kingsburg Historical Park to celebrate the Central Valley’s organic stone fruit growers and the bounty of the summer harvest.

Jul 17

Join 'Central to the Valley' as a Brand Ambassador

We're Hiring! Do you love meeting new people, supporting local agriculture, and representing a mission you believe in? Central to the Valley is looking for a Brand Ambassador (affectionately known as a Boothinator) to help us connect communities with the farmers and food businesses that make the San Joaquin Valley extraordinary.

Jul 14

Bolstering Rural Food Economies and Connecting Community through Agritourism

For small producers in a precarious world, innovation and adaptation are important to a healthy and resilient farm business. Agritourism enterprises offer small farmers an opportunity to expand their business model, increase their visibility, and connect to the local community.

Jul 14

In the News: Kingsburg reaps great times at Stone Fruit Jubilee

Mid Valley Times: On June 27, attendees filled Kingsburg Historical Park for the 18th Annual Organic Stone Fruit Jubilee and Small Farm Expo. From 4-7:30 p.m., the park hosted farmers, vendors and musical acts while guests filled their bags to the brim with organic fruit.

Jun 29

What is 'Central to the Valley'?

Central to the Valley has developed a Buying Guide—a public, searchable resource that helps residents find farms, farmers markets, retailers, and restaurants that source locally grown food across the region. The Buying Guide is designed to make it easier to identify where food comes from and to support businesses that are part of the Central Valley’s agricultural economy.

Jun 22

Central Valley Food Economy Summit (Video & Survey)

Watch the recap video of the Central Valley Food Economy Summit, which brought together food entrepreneurs, farmers, nonprofit leaders, and more to explore how investments in food system infrastructure can strengthen our local economy. We also encourage food businesses, farmers, processors, and community partners to participate in the Mapping California Food System Infrastructure survey.

Jun 11

'Central to the Valley' Toolkits Now Available

'Central to the Valley' Toolkits have launched, designed to help partners across the food system successfully onboard into the Central to the Valley brand. These toolkits include: social media assets, messaging guidance, marketing templates, promotional materials, brand resources, and more.

May 28

June 27: Organic Stone Fruit Jubilee & Small Farm Expo (Promo Video)

Get ready to taste the best of the Central Valley harvest at the 18th Annual Organic Stone Fruit Jubilee & Small Farm Expo, taking place on Saturday, June 27, 2026, from 4:00 to 7:30 p.m. at Kingsburg Historical Park.

May 25

Video: Ag Day at Fresno Chaffee Zoo

Ag Day at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo was a wonderful opportunity for F3 to connect with local families and share the many ways people can get involved in the future of agriculture, food, and innovation in the Central Valley.

May 11