HMC News – November 2022

The fall rains are upon us. At the beginning of the month, we received over ¾ of an inch, which is substantial for our area. The storm was cold enough for snow in the mountains, and hopefully this is the start of some form of drought relief. Once it dried out, we continued pruning tree fruit orchards and wrapped up harvest on the grapes for the year. Overall, the weather has been nice and cool, which helps the trees enter dormancy and accumulate chill hours. Dormancy is important during pruning because it allows the trees to drop their leaves, giving the pruners a better view of the tree structure and make better cutting decisions. Chill hours are important because it allows the trees to enter their “resting” stage, and a more rested tree is a tree that will wake up happy and ready to go in 2023!

As we learn about and incorporate Ag technology into our farming methods, the goal is not to remove workers or jobs, but rather to improve jobs so that our employees can manage the same amount of work with less physical stress. Ag tech also helps us ensure that we can continue to grow and sell fresh produce as our environmental and political environment continues to shift. In reality, adding technology to our fields will end up saving jobs in the long run by ensuring that we are able to operate for generations to come. Tevel Aerobotics and HMC Farms are working together to create this future.

Click here to learn more.

A huge part of being a family run business is contributing to our community. We live where we work, and coworkers are friends as well as neighbors. Pictured above are one of the many HMC Farms teams, full of family members, coworkers and our community. A life in farming is not simply trees and vines, it is not just what we do, it is who we are, and we are proud to provide for the community whenever possible. We are thankful every day for the opportunity to grow food for our families.

The week before Thanksgiving, HMC employees gathered to volunteer at the Fresno Food Bank. The Fresno Food Bank is an organization that we feel very strongly about. We know both our financial and personal efforts are well directed, as the Food Bank provides crucial support to those that are less fortunate in our community. Each year we donate produce as well as our time. In 2022 HMC Farms donated over 500,000 lbs. to the Central California Food Bank.

HMC Farms collaborates with Paper Farm Press on “Grapeful for You” project

As a family owned farming business, we are always excited when we have the opportunity to partner with other local businesses in California’s Central Valley on different types of projects. Sometimes that leads to delicious pies and specialty ice cream flavors, and other times it leads to beautiful artwork. 

This year, we had the opportunity to partner with Lauren, owner of Paper Farm Press, on a grape project. Paper Farm Press is a fellow Central Valley business which creates hand printed cards, stationery, and artwork prints using vintage printing machines affectionately named Willa and Heidi. Their mission is to cultivate community by learning about farming, encouraging others through hand-printed cards, and sharing recipes. Lauren’s work blends her faith with local agriculture, which requires a fair amount of faith in itself, in order to create beautiful pieces with important messages. 

Wood picture frame on white wall with artwork depicting instructions for growing grapes
photo by Paper Farm Press

When Lauren, who happens to be one of our grape growers, reached out to us to learn more about the grape growing process, we were happy to help. We provided her with all of the details about preparing the soil, irrigating, pruning, growth stages, and harvesting our table grape vineyards. We also shared the ways in which we’re using agricultural technology to make our vineyard maintenance and harvest processes more efficient. Most people may think of grapes as a seasonal commodity, but farming truly is a year-round commitment to caring for and maintaining the vines and the land on which they grow. With the information provided by HMC Farms, coupled with Lauren’s design skills, the Paper Farm Press “Grapeful for You” stationery box came to fruition. Every piece in the collection is beautiful, but the artwork print “How to Grow Table Grapes to Feed the World” is the perfect interpretation of the work we do in our vineyards at HMC Farms. 

One of our favorite things about Paper Farm Press, aside from the creation of beautiful handmade pieces, is the use of agricultural-based puns. We’re so grapeful that we had the opportunity to share the process of growing, maintaining, and harvesting our grape vineyards with Lauren. Paper Farm Press has graciously extended a 15% discount to friends of HMC Farms for all of their products, including the “Grapeful for You” collection, with code GRAPEFUL15.

Assorted stationery featuring grapes
photo by Paper Farm Press

Las damas de HMC sirven la cena en la Casa de Terry

El grupo de mujeres de HMC Farms, al que nos referimos como las Damas de HMC, combina actividades que van desde el desarrollo profesional hasta la creación de equipos y eventos de servicio a la comunidad. Uno de estos eventos de servicio fue en la Casa de Terry en Fresno. Terry's House, llamada así en honor a Terry Richards, está al otro lado de la calle del Community Regional Medical Center en el centro de Fresno. Es un lugar en el que los familiares de los pacientes de las unidades de cuidados intensivos del Community Regional Medical Center pueden dormir, comer y encontrar un momento de paz durante un momento difícil. Las instalaciones de Terry's House incluyen 20 habitaciones privadas con baño privado, una lavandería, un centro informático, una cocina y un comedor compartidos, y mucho más. Para las familias que viajan desde fuera de la zona de Fresno, y que a menudo tienen que quedarse durante un largo periodo de tiempo, Terry's House es un recurso muy necesario.

Con varias opciones de servicio y donación disponibles, las Damas de HMC actuaron en dos áreas: paquetes de atención y servicio de comidas. El grupo hizo paquetes de atención con artículos de aseo y suministros de uso diario donados por HMC Farms, estos paquetes incluían artículos como cepillos de dientes y desodorante - cosas que las personas que se alojan en Terry's House podrían necesitar cuando se encuentran inesperadamente fuera de casa - así como artículos de la comunidad como café y crema. Después de hacer los paquetes de atención, llegó el momento de la comida. Mujeres de diferentes departamentos de HMC Farms unieron sus fuerzas para participar en la preparación de las comidas en nuestra oficina principal, y once de esas mujeres condujeron hasta Fresno para cocinar y servir las comidas a los residentes de Terry's House desde su bien equipada cocina. Además de servir la comida, se tuvo la oportunidad de hablar con varias familias que se encuentran en medio de estancias en el centro. Compartieron sus historias con nuestro grupo y se mostraron muy agradecidos tanto por la comida que se les sirvió como por el hecho de que Terry's House fuera un rayo de sol en la tormenta. El evento de servicio fue divertido y gratificante, ¡y esperamos volver a ser voluntarios en Terry's House en el futuro!

Terry's House se financia únicamente con donaciones. Si está interesado en obtener más información sobre cómo donar o ser voluntario en Terry's House, visite su sección del sitio web de Community Medical Centers aquí: https://www.communitymedical.org/Make-a-Donation/Where-to-Donate/Terry-s-House/

También se puede contactar con Terry's House por correo electrónico o por teléfono:

foundation@communitymedical.org
(559) 724-4343

Se abre la sala de formación de la familia McClarty en el Banco de Alimentos de California Central

Durante algún tiempo, el Banco de Alimentos de California Central ha estado funcionando al máximo de su capacidad. Gracias a muchas donaciones generosas, el CCFB pudo finalmente mudarse a una nueva instalación de distribución de 140.000 pies cuadrados en Fresno. Además de nuestras donaciones regulares de fruta al banco de alimentos, Harold McClarty y su familia donaron fondos para las nuevas instalaciones, lo que llevó a que la sala de formación de la familia McClarty fuera nombrada en su honor.

En 2016-2017, el Central California Food Bank, antes conocido como Community Food Bank, ayudó a 280.000 personas al mes a través de distribuciones de alimentos, programas de recuperación de comidas y sitios escolares. Para más información sobre el CCFB y su misión de alimentar a los hambrientos en el Valle Central, haga clic aquí.