On Friday April 6th, Long Beach Fresh hosted the third annual Blue Ribbon Urban Agriculture contest at First Fridays Bixby Knolls’ Long Beach County Fair. This year saw the competition more than triple in size, with 112 entries from 32 entrants in 7 categories representing community gardens, backyards, commercial and non-profit farms from the greater Long Beach Area! See this summary and enjoy photos taken by Brain Feinzimer for Long Beach Fresh.
Entries were judged by a panel of community and culinary critics, including: Food writer Sarah Bennett, community activist and gardener Lee White, urban farmers Rod Dodd (Organic Harvest Gardens) and Sasha Kanno (Farm Lot 59), residents Veronica Legarreta and Bart Tashakor, and youth representatives. Judges evaluated look and feel, smell and taste, and rarity and size to determine top three placements in each category.
The awards were presented as follows:
Best in Show
Jose Gonzales, Thai Bananas
Fruit
1) Jose Gonzalez, Thai Bananas
2) Rick Alsagoth, Grapefruit
3) Growing Experience Urban Farm, Avocado
Leafy Greens
1) Lois Saavedra, Curly Kale
2) Growing Experience Urban Farm, Cabbage
3) Mark Haprov, Swiss Chard
Herbs
1) Jennifer Mancera, Snow White Basil
2) Chef Paul Buchanan, Lemon Verbena
3) Kelli Johnson, French Sorrel
Vegetables
1) Growing Experience Urban Farm, Butternut Squash
2) Moonwater Farm, Leek
3) Bruce Alton, Celery
Flowers
1) Moonwater Farms, Delphinium
2) Kate Butiu, mixed bouquet
3) Molly Puzo, Carnations
Root Vegetables
1) Mark Haprov, Golden Beets
2) Andy Vaughan, assorted Radish
3) Claudia Perez, Japanese Sweet Potato
Jams
1) Bruce Alton, Orange
2) Kim Campanelli, Dragonfruit
3) Claudia Perez, Raspberry