Florida Strawberry Members

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

Scholarships Due Soon

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Strawberry Ambassadors David, Haley, Kelsey and Megan at the Florida State Fair
Strawberry Ambassadors David, Haley, Kelsey and Megan at the Florida State Fair

Every year the Florida Strawberry Growers Association gives out thousands of dollars in scholarships. Funding for FSGA scholarships comes from the sales of nine flats of berries that are donated by strawberry growers during the Best Flat Contests in February and March each year at the Florida Strawberry Festival.

Eligible students must be an enrolled college undergraduate or a high school graduate and submit a letter of intent to attend college. The deadline for scholarship applications is September 25, 2015.

Ambassador Application

Scholarship Application

Submit Your Applications To:

FSGA/Scholarship
P.O. Drawer 2550
Plant City, FL 33564

For more information click here or contact the Florida Strawberry Grower’s Association at 813-752-6822.

Best Flat Competition Results

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2014 Florida Strawberry Festival FSGA Booth
2014 FSGA Ambassadors, Morgan Sistrunk, Alssa Shepherd, Aly Joyner

Strawberry farmers in Florida have a long history of supporting our local community.  Every March, in conjunction with the Florida Strawberry Festival, our growers participate in an event we call the “Best Flat Competition.”  Growers bring their best berries to be judged on flavor, size, color, and other key attributes.

Winning boxes are auctioned to raise scholarship money for very deserving local students.  We have generated more than $400,000 in scholarships over the past 31 years with the help of this 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.

2014 BEST FLAT COMPETITION

February 28, 2014 – Swine Sale
1st Place Grower – Fancy Farms, Inc. $900.00
Handler – Wish Farms
Buyer – Wish Farms
2nd Place Grower – Mike Lott Farms $700.00
Handler – C & D Fruit & Vegetable
Buyer – Highland Package Solutions
3rd Place Grower –  Simmons Farms $500.00
Handler – Wish Farms
Buyer –  Wish Farms
Total Swine Sale $2,100.00

March 2, 2014 – Plant Sale
1st Place Grower – Fancy Farms, Inc. $500.00
Handler – Wish Farms
Buyer – Wish Farms
2nd Place Grower – Mike Lott Farm $550.00
Handler – C & D Fruit & Vegetable
Buyer – Rick Lott
3rd Place Grower – Simmons Farms $250.00
Handler – Wish Farms
Buyer – Wish Farms
Total Plant Sale $1,300.00

March 8, 2014 – Steer Sale
1st Place Grower – Simmons Farms $1,000.00
Handler – Wish Farms
Buyer – Wish Farms
2nd Place Grower – Daniel Gutierrez Farm $500.00
Handler – Gulf Coast Produce
Buyer – Crop Protection Services
3rd Place Grower – Mike Lott Farm $1,000.00
Handler – C & D Fruit & Vegetable
Buyer – Mike Lott Farm
Total Steer Sale $2,500.00
Total 2014 Sales $5,900.00

$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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