A Tradition That Keeps Growing: Lemoore FFA Pumpkin Patch
October is the time of year when leaves start turning orange and become crunchy, when festivities begin and when the smell of pumpkin spice and cinnamon fills the air. For FFA, it’s the highlight of the year when every chapter in California does something unique for their communities.
Here at Lemoore FFA, we celebrate the arrival of fall by hosting our annual pumpkin patch. Every year, our chapter welcomes the community to enjoy a free pumpkin patch filled with games, activities, food, photo ops, and of course, lots of fun. However, what makes our pumpkin patch especially unique is that it’s completely student-run.
Since 2007, Lemoore FFA agricultural leadership has worked together to plan and organize the perfect pumpkin patch to give back to our community. Months in advance, members begin preparing by painting posters, organizing crafts, making decorations, assigning jobs, and ensuring that every community member will have a great time. This year, we had a variety of booths with different activities for everyone to enjoy. At our snack booth, we sold lemonade, sodas, water, popcorn, cotton candy, and even pomegranates grown by our crop science class. We also had several craft booths, a monster puppet booth, a coloring station, and a decorate-your-own-pumpkin booth. Not only did we have crafts and snacks, we also had games. We had cornhole, pin the stem on the pumpkin, and our community favorite, pumpkin bowling. And of course, no pumpkin patch would be complete without pumpkins for sale, which our members offered for $5 each.
For Lemoore FFA, this event is about more than celebrating fall. It gives our chapter an opportunity to go beyond the classroom and put our leadership skills into practice, and provides a way to connect with and give back to our community.
One of my favorite parts of the pumpkin patch is watching my peers connect with the community and being able to see them step out of their comfort zone and serve their community. For many of us, our favorite thing about the pumpkin patch was seeing our community come together and seeing the impact we have on our local families.
Lemoore FFA Vice President Suri Ibañez said, “The pumpkin patch was great! I felt very inspired to give back to the community, and being able to show our community how FFA isn’t something that just happens in our school, but we always find a way to give back to our community. The pumpkin patch encouraged me to talk to people I didn’t know, and of all ages, while pushing me to practice my social skills, and get out of my bubble!”
As a senior, I’ve had the opportunity to help with the pumpkin patch every year, and I’ve watched it grow alongside our chapter. When I was a freshman, we held the event at our school farm. Now, four years later, we’ve brought that same tradition to our local park, welcoming even more families into our FFA community. Seeing children return year after year reminds me that the impact of this event goes beyond one afternoon of games and pumpkins. It’s all about creating memories and building connections that will continue to grow.
A member of our community shared with me that she has visited the pumpkin patch since she was young because her brother was involved in FFA, and now she brings her own children to share the same tradition. “The kids always enjoy it; they like being able to play all the games and being able to pick a pumpkin. I want to say this might be our fifth or sixth year coming. We’ve brought them here since they were little,” she shared. Hearing stories like hers reminds us as a chapter that our efforts will always have a long-lasting impact on our community.
Our annual pumpkin patch has been a staple for the families in Lemoore for the past 19 years and is a reflection of how much we’ve grown alongside our community. This event is only the beginning for the many great things Lemoore FFA will do. As our chapter grows, we will continue to serve others, strengthen our membership, and will continue to build lasting connections with the community that has supported us throughout the years. We look forward to continuing this tradition and finding new ways to make positive impacts for the many years to come.
