SALINAS, CA - Members of the California leafy greens community will be honoring retiring Congressman Sam Farr of California’s 20th District at an October 28th breakfast event at the Corral de Tierra Country Club in Salinas. Both the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement  (LGMA) and the Grower-Shipper Association (GSA) of Central California are recognizing Farr’s longstanding support of national food safety laws and the leafy greens industry in general.

“Even before the LGMA existed, Congressman Farr was a great supporter of this effort to regain consumer confidence in the safety of leafy greens following tragic events of 2006,” explained Scott Horsfall, CEO of the LGMA. “Farr has helped us over the years by arranging visits from important regulatory officials and capitalizing on his position as a ranking member of the House of Ag Appropriations to raise public awareness of the LGMA as a model public-private partnership which has made a real impact in protecting public health.”

Serving in Congress for 23 years, Farr represents such California ag-focused cities as Santa Cruz, Gilroy, Hollister, King City, Monterey, and the Salinas Valley. Horsfall noted in a press release that Farr was instrumental in bringing to Salinas such officials as USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, and FDA Director of Foods Mike Taylor allowing them to see first-hand the commitment to producing safe leafy greens among farmers. 

LGMA will present the Congressman with its coveted Golden Checkmark Award—given to those who support government oversight of food safety in the produce industry. Past recipients of the award include Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and former California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura.

“Sam has been a huge supporter of the leafy greens community in Salinas,” added Jim Bogart, President of GSA. “He quickly offered his support to our farmers following the tragic E. coli outbreak associated with spinach in 2006 and recognized immediately the industry wanted to do everything possible to make sure it would never happen again.” GSA will be presenting a special resolution to Congressman Farr thanking him for his service.

LGMA’s event will take place at the Corral de Tierra Country Club, 81 Corral de Tierra Road in Salinas on October 28th. The association notes that event begins with breakfast at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 10:00 a.m., and is open to all Board members of the LGMA and the Grower-Shipper Association, as well as their invited guests.

LGMA Grower-Shipper Association