Volunteers worked hard celebrating Harvest Solutions Farm’s fifth anniversary, picking bell peppers in its Irvine field.
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The farm is a collaboration between Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, the University of California South Coast Research & Extension Center and Solutions for Urban Agriculture.
It grows fruits and vegetables year-round and has supplied more than 9 million pounds of produce to the food bank.
Workers sort bell peppers at the Harvest Solutions Farm in Irvine on Friday, August 28, 2026. The farm was celebrating 5 years of growing vegetables and distributing them through Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Staff and volunteers pick bell peppers at the Harvest Solutions Farm in Irvine on Friday, August 28, 2026. The farm was celebrating 5 years of growing vegetables and distributing them through Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Workers were picking bell peppers at the Harvest Solutions Farm in Irvine on Friday, August 28, 2026. The farm was celebrating 5 years of growing vegetables and distributing them through Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Volunteer Alberto Della Ripa, of Rancho Santa Margarita, picks bell peppers at the Harvest Solutions Farm in Irvine on Friday, August 28, 2026. The farm was celebrating 5 years of growing vegetables and distributing them through Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Hannah Ortiz, agriculture manager at Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, speaks to staff and volunteers at the Harvest Solutions Farm in Irvine on Friday, August 28, 2026. The farm was celebrating 5 years of growing vegetables and distributing them through Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Hannah Ortiz, agriculture manager at Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, speaks to staff and volunteers at the Harvest Solutions Farm in Irvine on Friday, August 28, 2026. The farm was celebrating 5 years of growing vegetables and distributing them through Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Staff and volunteers take a group photo at the Harvest Solutions Farm in Irvine on Friday, August 28, 2026. The farm was celebrating 5 years of growing vegetables and distributing them through Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Volunteer Elise Druehl, of Irvine, picks bell peppers at the Harvest Solutions Farm in Irvine on Friday, August 28, 2026. The farm was celebrating 5 years of growing vegetables and distributing them through Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
“It’s such a unique project,” said Hannah Ortiz, agriculture manager at Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, adding that they are one of the only food banks in the nation operating a farm at this scale and at this volume.
“We work with volunteer power to deliver fresh produce,” she said.
As the morning heated up, staff and volunteers picked buckets of bell peppers that will go to some of the 400,000 clients the food bank serves each month.
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During the year, the farm will grow several varieties of squash, peppers, zucchini, watermelon, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower.
Anyone can volunteer to pick vegetables at the farm, and the organizers promote the benefit to the community as well as the volunteers.
“It gives an opportunity for the community to connect with agriculture and the food system in a way that we’ve been disconnected for quite some time,” said Ortiz. “It really is such a human experience.”
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