The 13th annual Ag Against Hunger Produce Mascot Race will take place during the Friday night performance of the California Rodeo Salinas on July 19th. The track will be full of giant mascots who will race toward the finish line in a sprint combined with a special challenge.
Each company pays an entry fee of $1,000 that is donated directly to Ag Against Hunger, a program of the Grower-Shipper Foundation. The entry fees along with a few other donations resulted in the California Rodeo Salinas donating over $116,000 to Ag Against Hunger over the last 12 years.
Ag Against Hunger (AAH), started in 1990, whose mission is to alleviate hunger by creating a connection between the agricultural community and food assistance programs. They focus on “gleaning” which gets volunteers out in the fields to glean excess produce that then gets donated to food bank partners. During Covid, the Ag Against Hunger Program coordinated with the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box program to deliver over 100,000 food boxes to local growers for their workers. The Rodeo and Ag Against Hunger came up with the idea of racing mascots in 2011 and the program has been a success ever since. Without the support of local sponsors, this race and monetary donation would not be possible.
Photos by Kelsey Floyd