BAKERSFIELD, CA - Statistics are a powerful point as we navigate ROI, and the data certainly points to California table grapes being among the fresh items to bring happy shoppers to the produce department; but the power of this investment holds much more. The California Table Grape Commission recently reminded me stocking California grapes has ripple effects that flow inside and outside of the store.

Inside the store, stocking California table grapes means bigger sales baskets and return shoppers seeking more high-quality California grapes. Outside the store, buyers support jobs that sustain families, thriving rural communities, and growers with the financial ability to give back and invest in the future.

“Choosing California grapes does, in fact, create positive ripple effects. The satisfaction of increased retail rings and happy, repeat customers is ultimately followed by benefits to families and communities; benefits like ripples in a pond, can be very far reaching,” Kathleen Nave, President of the California Table Grape Commission, points out.

We recently shared the story of the California table grape growers’ scholarship program—one that has already seen an immediate generational impact in that of brothers Marco and Alvaro Jimenez, recipients in 2024 and 2013 respectively.

Marco Jimenez is a graduate of Delano High School and one of the recipients of a $25,000 Field Worker Scholarship in 2024. Jimenez will attend Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, this fall to study civil engineering with a plan to return to Delano—a community from which he draws much inspiration and support, to work on community infrastructure.

Jimenez was inspired and encouraged by his older brother Alvaro, who also graduated from Delano High School and earned a Field Worker Scholarship in 2013. Alvaro Jimenez attended the University of Southern California and graduated in 2017 with a Bachelor's degree in human biology.

Alongside Marco and his family is Leslie Aquino, the second recipient of the 2024 $25,000 Field Worker Scholarship.

Aquino graduated from East Bakersfield High School with a 4.5 GPA and will attend the University of California, Merced, to study computer science. A member of her school cross-country and track teams, an avid churchgoer, and a community volunteer, Aquino was selected to participate in the Kern High School District Art Show. She is not only the first person in her family to graduate high school but graduated at the top of her class and will be the first in her family to attend college this fall.

Stay tuned as we continue to showcase the granular and larger impacts such investments—and their returns—ripple into.