Taylor Farms Helps Demonstrate Opportunities in the Ag Industry to Students at Local High School Trade Show

Last week, Taylor Farms was represented  at the 19th Annual Everett Alvarez High School International Agribusiness Academy trade show. This event helps showcase the careers and opportunities available in agriculture, teach the students the history of the Salinas Valley, and allow students who had recently job-shadowed at companies to act as ambassadors.

Taylor Farms hosted three high school juniors who previously had the opportunity to job-shadow at both the processing facility and the fields, where they saw the automated romaine harvester in action!

Following their shadow experience, these students put a display together that was featured at the show, representing their experience at Taylor Farms and how they now act as ambassadors of the company. The show floor is open to all students at the high school so they can walk around and ask questions about each company. Our ambassadors were knowledgeable on what we do and able to talk about the history of the company, as well as how our products are made and harvested. They even made Lemon Cauliflower Cupcakes for everyone to sample. (Delicious recipe below).

The trade show is an open house setting with almost 50 company booths, demonstrating all of the different opportunities available in the community. This event originally began with just the Ag. Business Class and has grown to involve all of the classes at the International Agribusiness Academy.

“The students have little first-hand knowledge of the agriculture industry until they get out and experience it themselves through the job shadowing with the various companies,” says Janice Souza, teacher at Everett Alvarez High School. “It has been fun these past 19 years to see the difference in each of the students when I first take them to their job shadow, and share the excitement when they return.”

Lemon Cauliflower Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 18 oz. packaged lemon cake mix
• Optional: 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 3 egg whites or 2 whole eggs
• 1 cup cooked mashed Taylor Farms Cauliflower Pearls (cooled)
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup toasted coconut

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a large mixing bowl of an electric mixer, add the dry cake mix and other ingredients and mix on low speed for one minute. Scrape bowl and continue to mix at medium-high speed for 4 minutes until batter is well combined.

Line muffin tins with 24 cupcake papers. Use an ice-cream scoop to fill papers a little more than half full with batter.

Place tins in preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until cake springs back when lightly touched.

Remove cupcakes from oven and place on a cooling rack. Dust cooled cupcakes with a light dusting of powdered sugar, or frost with a nondairy whipped topping.

Store frosted cupcakes in the refrigerator until ready to eat.