Florida Strawberry Members

Welcome to the home of the freshest, most delicious strawberries in the world. Enjoy fresh Florida strawberries, available December through April.

FSGA Joins World Dessert Championship

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FSGA_Logo_8-31-10The Florida Strawberry Growers Association has partnered with the 2015 World Food Championships by becoming an infused ingredient for the competition’s dessert category.

“Florida Strawberries from Hillsboro County, Fla., alone account for 15 percent of the nation’s supply of strawberries,” said Sue Harrell, spokeswoman for the Florida Strawberry Association.

Harrell said that the Association is a major funding source for strawberry research to insure the fruit’s availability nationwide and broaden its growing season.

“The World Food Championships coincides with the November kick-off of our picking season for strawberries and is a perfect venue to give people creative and innovative ideas for using the berries in dessert creations,” she said.

Mike McCloud, CEO of World Food Championships, confirmed the importance of the Florida Strawberry Growers Association partnership.

“The World Food Championships will welcome 50 pre-qualified dessert champions in this category,” he explained. “The Top Ten of these Food Champs will be required to showcase strawberries as a key ingredient of their dessert recipes.”

Harrell said that she is positive strawberries will be plentiful this year.

“They will offer the competition chefs a wide range of imaginative recipe ideas that feature the beautiful color and flavor for which the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World is known,” she said.

McCloud noted that Harrell, or “Strawberry Sue” as she is known in the Florida Strawberry Growers Association, has constructed fabulous recipes and educational information that can provide some early inspiration for competitors. The FLAStrawberry.com site lists ideas from citrus drinks to BBQ sauces that use the sweetness of the berry as an infused ingredient.

World Food Championship Logo“Our world-class champions will have a great time using strawberries as an infused ingredient at the World Food Championships this year,” he said.

The World Food Championships takes place in Kissimmee, Fla., Nov. 3-10, with 500 competitors vying for a $300,000 purse across nine categories of food tournaments. A Final Table winner, with bragging rights and a check for $100,000, will be crowned on Nov. 10, 2015.

Learn more about the Florida Strawberry Growers Association and the over 12,000 acres of strawberries they support at FLAStrawberry.com.

Join the fun at the 2015 World Food Championships with tickets to competitive, educational, family and culinary events at WorldFoodChampionships.com/tickets.

Check out the highlights from the 2014 World Food Championships in Downtown Las Vegas.

About Florida Strawberry Growers Association

Located in Central Florida a little town called Plant City is a mecca for the sweetest, most luscious strawberries around. Moreover, strawberries remain the commodity that made this community a family. In 1982, the Florida Strawberry Growers Association (FSGA) was officially formed. This organization became a voice for Florida strawberry growers. The mission for the handful of farmers was to become “partners in research, promotion and member/community service.” In the years since then, the growers have met that mission and succeeded in forming a voluntary organization that represents over 12,000 acres of berries today. Florida strawberries provide a taste of summer all winter long! Our season runs Mid-November through March. For recipes and more visit our blog Strawberrysue.com and our website Florida Strawberry Growers Association

$15,500 in Scholarships Raised

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Our Ambassadors with the Best Flat buyers John Poppell and Wish Farms, Chuck Hollenkamp and Andy Gutierrez.
Our Ambassadors with the Best Flat buyers John Poppell and Wish Farms, Chuck Hollenkamp and Andy Gutierrez.

2013 proved to be another successful year in raising scholarship money through the Florida Strawberry Best Flat Competition at the 78th Annual Florida Strawberry Festival. A total of $15,500 was raised over three days of competition. This year’s competition raised almost twice the $8,100 that was raised in 2012.

The judges once again had a difficult time determining this year’s winners. The competition was fierce and being recognized as a winner in this contest is a big deal in our industry! The Jay Taylor Band acted as our judges on the final day of the competition.

The Florida Strawberry Growers Association has awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships since 1983. Scholarship applications are ready for pick up or download beginning in June each year and are usually due by the middle of September that same year.

The Florida Strawberry Growers Association offers scholarships to encourage young men and women to continue their education beyond high school. The committee will determine the amount of the scholarship, but none will be less than $500.00.

Eligible students must be an enrolled college undergraduate or a high school graduate and submit a letter of intent to attend college. You can find more information on our scholarship program here.

March  1, 2013 – Swine Sale
1st Place Grower – E. W. Simmons Farm
Handler – Wish Farms
Buyer – Wish Farms
$1,100
Total
$1,100
2nd Place Grower – Mike Lott Farms
Handler – C & D Fruit & Vegetable
Buyer – C & D Fruit & Vegetable
$1,000
Total
$1,000
3rd Place Grower – Southern Farm Alliance & Colson Rd Farm
Handler – Colorful Harvest
Buyer – Colorful Harvest
$1,000
Total
$1,000
Total Swine Sale
$3,100

March  3, 2013 – Plant Sale
1st Place Grower – E. W. Simmons Farm
Handler – Wish Farms
Buyer – Poppell Insurance
$1,000
Buyer-Matched by Wish Farms
$1,000
Total
$2,000
2nd Place Grower – Fancy Farms
Handler – Wish Farms
Buyer – Wish Farms
$600
Total
$600
3rd Place Grower – D & K Farms
Handler – Colorful Harvest
Buyer – Colorful Harvest
$650
Total
$650
Total Plant Sale
$3,250

March 9, 2013 – Steer Sale
1st Place Grower – Mike Lott Farms
Handler – C & D Fruit & Vegetable
Buyer – Wish Farms, and
$1,600
Buyer-Matched by Crop Protection Services, and
$1,600
Buyer-C & D Fruit & Vegetable Donated
$1,000
Buyer-Matched by Oaks Farm
$1,000
Total
$5,200
2nd Place Grower – Sewell Farms, LLC
Handler – Westlake Produce
Buyer – Wish Farms
$1,500
Buyer-Matched by Colorful Harvest
$1,500
Total
$3,000
3rd Place Grower – Sam Williamson Farm
Handler – Driscolls
Buyer – Driscolls
$1,000
Total
$1,000
Total Steer Sale
$9,200

2013 Best Flat Competition
Total Scholarship Money Raised
$15,550

About Florida Winter Strawberries

In 1980, a few strawberry growers began meeting in their homes to discuss the best way to organize a group that would represent the interests of the Florida strawberry industry. On February 11, 1982, the Florida Strawberry Growers Association (FSGA) was born. Hillsborough County is recognized as the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World and the home of some of the sweetest, reddest and juiciest strawberries around.

Get Connected

Florida Strawberry Growers Association
P.O. Box: 2550
Plant City, FL 33564
Telephone: 813-752-6822
Fax: 813-752-216

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