GCF, Farm Progress Enter Partnership

FRESNO, Calif. - The Grizzlies Community Fund (GCF) has commissioned Farm Progress Companies to develop and publish the Central California Farm Grown Magazine that will be featured in the GCF's Wild About Reading Program in the 2012-2013 school year. Farm Progress Companies is a national agricultural publishing company based in Chicago, Illinois and this will be the first year of a partnership with the GCF. The partnership with Farm Progress will support the GCF's Farm Grown program launched earlier this year.

"We want all students to understand the importance of farming and agricultural sustainability in the Central San Joaquin Valley," said Fresno Grizzlies Managing General Partner and Team President Chris Cummings. "With the help of Farm Progress and through our community program Wild About Reading, children will be able to learn more about the food they eat and how they can help support farming, too"

The Farm Grown Magazine will feature agriculture-related information and games as well as nutritional facts to promote healthier eating alternatives for kids of all ages. Content will be correlated to California's Common Core State Standards for education so that it can be adopted and used by teachers in the classroom. The goal of the Farm Grown Magazine is to teach children the path that food travels from the farm to their lunchboxes.

Wild About Reading reached an all-time high in 2012, enrolling over 97,000 Central Valley students, the most in the program's history. More than 250 assemblies were held at schools featuring Grizzlies mascot Parker and Grizzlies front office staff members reading to students while Parker acts out his adventures. The program has been adopted by schools in Fresno, Kings, Madera, Mariposa and Merced counties. Students who reach the goal of reading 10 books in five weeks receive tickets to a Grizzlies home game at Chukchansi Park. This school year the Wild About Reading Program will take on an Ag theme with a book called "Parker Visits A Farm." Parker and his friends will be visiting a Central Valley farm learning about being a farmer.

Under the GCF 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Central California Farm Grown program was announced in April of 2012 to promote the agricultural heritage and philanthropic vitality of the Central San Joaquin Valley through the building of meaningful partnerships in support of education and healthy eating.

For more information on how you can become a sponsor of the Farm Grown program, please contact Jerry James of the Grizzlies front office at (559) 320-2511.