John D’Arrigo, chief executive officer, president and chairman of the board for D’Arrigo California, is partnering with the Grower Shipper Association Foundation/Ag Against Hunger to create an ag industry-designated charitable giving opportunity. The goal is to help individuals and families who are struggling from food insecurity and the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

D'Arrigo kicked off the Ag Challenge effort with generous pledges of $10,000 to support the Food Bank for Monterey County and $10,000 to support Meals on Wheels of the Salinas Valley.

"When I saw the Food Bank for Monterey County feature on the news, I realized how difficult things are right now for them and it really got me thinking. How can I help these two organizations continue to fulfill their mission of providing fresh fruit and vegetables to individuals in need? So, I thought of the Ag Challenge," said D'Arrigo.

As a grower, packer and shipper of fresh fruit and vegetables, D’Arrigo California is fully operational with its employees working at the headquarters, shipping facility and fields.  "We do not want the coronavirus to keep individuals from consuming fresh fruit and vegetables as no research or cases have shown COVID-19 to be transmitted via food, including fresh produce," said Claudia Pizarro-Villalobos, director of marketing and culinary. "With the shelter-in-place mandate, it is our goal to support food service agencies that provide and deliver fresh fruit and vegetables to boost the immune systems of children, families and elderly as we combat this dreadful virus.”

The Ag Challenge will provide necessary funding to the Food Bank for Monterey County and Meals on Wheels of the Salinas Valley during this pandemic. If you would like to be part of this extraordinary effort to address community needs due to COVID-19, please contact Chris Valadez, president of Grower Shipper-Association, or Abby Taylor-Silva, vice president of Grower-Shipper Association policy and communications.