In December 2009, s’Cool Food hosted a farm tour for our colleagues in northern Santa Barbara County. School districts participating on the tour included Blochman, Lompoc, Orcutt and Santa Maria-Bonita.
As compared to a farm tour in early 2009 to a small, organic farm, the north county tour visited two large farming operations. The first stop was at Betteravia Farm’s large cooler and distribution center in Santa Maria, from which the group headed to Betteravia’s processing facility on the opposite side of town. After also driving by some of Betteravia’s farms in the area, the group visited Apio, Inc. in Guadalupe to observe their practices.
At both locations, quality control and food safety precautions were emphasized as hundreds of workers handled large quantities of locally grown veggies. Due to rain, the group was not able to drive into any fields in the area.
Currently, Blochman, Guadalupe, Orcutt and Santa Maria-Bonita School Districts are purchasing some of their produce from both Betteravia Farms and Apio
. 
