It’s November and we’ve got some serious celebrating to do when it comes to fresh vegetables.

Arizona growers and shippers are celebrating the 12th annual Arizona Leafy Greens Month, the best way to celebrate the start of harvest. Since the first celebration, Arizona farmers have produced more than 100 billion servings of lettuce (based on the average production of 9 billion servings per year).

Due to our 300-plus days of sunshine and our growing conditions, Arizona is known as the winter lettuce capital of the U.S. providing Americans with an abundance of lettuce and leafy greens from November to March. According to United States Department of Agriculture statistics Arizona farmers grow approximately 25% of the total U.S. lettuce supply each year. On an annual basis, the leafy greens farming community in Arizona generates a $2 billion impact.

“Right now, Arizona farms are actively growing and harvesting some types of leafy greens including spinach, kale, arugula, spring mix, Swiss chard and romaine lettuce.” said Teressa Lopez, Administrator of the Arizona LGMA program. “Arizona LGMA food safety audits will begin the week of November 18th and continue regularly throughout our growing season.”

Yuma leafy greens farmer and Arizona Farm Bureau’s First Vice President John Boelts can attest to what Lopez is saying. “Those of us who work in agriculture harvesting and processing crops, we’re out here doing it 365 days a year, trying to make sure that it’s ready on the right day to harvest, ready for consumers and available all day, every day.”

Throughout November, Arizona LGMA is partnering with Yuma Safe Produce Council to celebrate through a variety of outreach activities. The two organizations will have a booth at the Yuma Farmer’s Market on Saturday, November 23. And on social media, Welcome to Arizona will help drive awareness of Arizona’s contributions to the food supply. Farmer influencer Jon Dinsmore will share the farming aspect of Arizona leafy greens, and Ramiro Ruiz Jr. (Ram628) will help to share his perspective as a harvest machinery mechanic. The celebration also includes contests and giveaways on Instagram and Facebook.

Arizona Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement Arizona LGMA works to protect public health by cultivating food safety practices, verifying on-farm compliance, utilizing data for improvement and empowering industry with tools to advance food safety.