12/08/2025
I love this approach and hope this works to bring back the avocado industry in the North County.
Food has always played a vital role in Chuck Samuelson’s life.
He said one thing has stuck from working many years with food: “We don’t make much in San Diego anymore in terms of the food system.”
“It used to be that things were made in your community for the members of your community,” said Samuelson. “We’ve lost all that.”
An idea to bring back a more direct-to-consumer option sparked when Samuelson found an avocado farm in Bonsall for lease. He thought, what if consumers could get avocados directly from the source, and help farmers make more money than they would if they sold to a distributor?
The idea was inspired by the European farming initiative, Naranjas del Carmen, Samuelson said. Based in Spain, the farm allows people to sponsor its orange trees and receive a share of the harvest.
He’s piloting that same model at his farm via a tree adoption program.
The idea is you adopt a tree, you can name it, get a certificate and its GPS coordinates, which show the tree’s location on the farm.
The adopter can get organic avocados from their tree shipped to their home.
It’s all covered with an annual membership.
Interested in learning more? Read the story here: https://ow.ly/wx0L50XAVPO
📝: Tammy Murga
📹: Charlotte Radulovich
