Winters Farm To School Chosen To Be Honored At Second Annual California Nonprofits Day Celebration

On Wednesday, June 28, Winters Farm to School was honored as a Nonprofit of the Year at a celebration of California Nonprofits Day at the State Capitol in Sacramento. Melanie Bajakian and Cathy Olsen, both founding Board Members of Winters Farm to School attended the event. Winters Farm to School was selected by Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar Curry as an exceptional nonprofit organization in her district. Winters Farm to School joined nearly one hundred other nonprofit leaders from across the state being honored at the annual California Nonprofits Day event, formally recognized by Assembly Concurrent Resolution 54, authored by the chair of the new Assembly Select Committee on the Nonprofit Sector Assemblywoman Monique Limon (D-Santa Barbara).

Winters Farm to School raises funds to purchase fresh, local fruits, nuts and produce for our school district’s meal programs. It also supports our local school gardens at Waggoner and Rominger Schools with gardening grants to purchase tools, soil, seeds and irrigation supplies. This past year, Winters Farm to School also funded a Kids Farmers Market Coordinator to keep that vital program active at Waggoner School. Winters Farm to School is an all-volunteer effort with all monies raised going directly toward boosting the health and well-being of our school children. The award recipients were honored at a luncheon at Sacramento’s Convention Center, with welcomes from Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, Assemblymember Limon, and Jan Masaoka, CEO of the California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits). California Attorney General Xavier Becerra was also invited to speak to the gathered honorees and their legislators.

“Nonprofit organizations are vitally important to the economy and well-being of California. But too often nonprofits are ‘hidden in plain sight.’ We are thrilled that the State Assembly has passed a resolution for the second year in a row that puts the spotlight on nonprofits as an economic power that uses that power for the common good. We congratulate all of the award recipients on being honored for the great work they do every day to make California a better place,” said Jan Masaoka, CEO of California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits), a statewide alliance of over 10,000 organizations, representing and promoting California’s growing nonprofit sector and working to bring the full power of nonprofits to strengthening communities