Arizona kicks off leafy greens season, celebrates state’s leafy greens month

Known for its winter lettuce, Arizona provides Americans with an abundance of lettuce and leafy greens from November to March. Arizona farmers grow approximately 25% of the total U.S. lettuce supply each year, the USDA reports.

Annually, the leafy greens farming community in Arizona generates a $2 billion impact, according to the Arizona Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement.

“Right now, Arizona farms are actively growing and harvesting all leafy greens from iceberg and romaine to spinach and spring mix,” Teressa Lopez, administrator of the Arizona LGMA program, said in a news release. “Arizona LGMA food safety audits will begin this week and continue regularly throughout our growing season.”

To celebrate the start of harvest, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has proclaimed November 2023 as Arizona Leafy Greens month. This is the 11th annual celebration, and during that time Arizona farmers have produced more than 99 billion servings of lettuce based on the average production of 9 billion servings per year, according to the release.

Throughout November, Arizona LGMA is partnering with Yuma Fresh Produce Council to celebrate through a variety of outreach activities. The two organizations will have a booth at the Yuma Farmer’s Market on Nov. 18-19. On social media, food influencers Kristen Carlie of Camelback Nutrition and Megan Crivelli (The Produce Nerd) are slated to help spread the world about Arizona’s contributions to the food supply. 

Farmer influencer Jon Dinsmore has shared the farming aspect of Arizona leafy greens and Ramiro Ruiz Jr. (Ram628) is set to help share his perspective as a harvest machinery mechanic.  The celebration also includes contests and giveaways on Instagram and Facebook.

Arizona LGMA works to protect public health by cultivating food safety practices, verifying on-farm compliance, using data for improvement and empowering the industry with tools to advance food safety, the organization says.