UPDATE (May 28, 2016) — Record first day of sales with 36,892 ears sold (the previous high was 34,000 ears in 2013): bit.ly/FSN-Corn16day1
Three varieties of Fresno State’s campus-grown sweet corn will be available when the Rue and Gwen Gibson Farm Market begins selling its most popular product at 7 a.m. Friday, May 27.
Customers can choose from the traditional yellow and white varieties and the new bi-color, yellow and white variety.
Planted and raised by Fresno State students and staff, all three varieties will be sold throughout the summer with supplies expected to move fast.
Three ears of corn will be sold for $1. A new dozen-count bag of yellow corn will also be available for sale outside the store for $5 on Friday and Saturday to help customers save time and avoid lines.
“We love being able to kick off the summer with the return of the Central Valley’s most famous sweet corn,” said Jeremy Lewis, the Gibson Farm Market’s new manager. “There’s nothing better this holiday weekend than roasting fresh corn on the grill and spending time with family and friends, so we expect another busy weekend.”
Last year more than 150 shoppers lined up before the Gibson Farm Market opened on the first day of sweet corn sales. If that occurs this year, groups will again be let in periodically to remain within maximum building capacity.
The store will have special weekend hours from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. The store will resume its normal hours on Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and will be closed Monday for Memorial Day.
Rue and Gwen Gibson Farm Market Corn
This past summer, more than 616,000 ears were sold at the Gibson Farm Market. On opening day, 28,000 ears were sold and were part of a three-day opening weekend total of nearly 70,000 ears.
Sweet corn is among 22 enterprises sponsored by the Jordan College of Agricultural Science and Technology at Fresno State. The 1,000-acre campus farm also includes vegetable crops, dairy, fruit, horticulture, livestock, meat and wine units that grow, process and package products.
About $1 million in products are sold each year at the Gibson Farm Market to support Jordan College students and programs. Most goods are produced with the help of 130 student employees and 80 classes that use the campus farm to give students hands-on experience. Other products include wine, meat, ice cream, nuts, salsa, syrups and other items often created and made by Fresno State Food Science and Nutrition Department, creamery, food processing unit and meats laboratory students.
Starting in June, the market’s summer hours will be 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
For more information, contact 559.278.4511 or farmmarket@fresnostate.edu or visit the Gibson Farm Market’s Facebook page.
