From left: Agri‑Pulse Founder Sara Wyant; a staff member for Asm. Avelina Valencia; and Jenny Maloney of Bayer CropScience Vegetable Seeds.
SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 10, 2026 — Agri-Pulse is pleased to announce that Assemblymember Avelina Valencia is the winner of the third annual Great Tomato Challenge and Assemblymember Marc Berman came in second place.
“This is the first time participants, including California Senate and Assembly members and their staff members, grew Husky Red Cherry Tomatoes. We had 52 individuals take part in this unique opportunity to learn about growing your own food, while doing something good for those most in need of high-quality food from food banks,” explained Agri-Pulse Founder Sara Wyant. “It was an extremely close competition with the winner edging out the second-place contestant by only one point!”
Agri-Pulse will make a $1,000 and $500 donation to the winners’ food banks of their choice. Asm. Valencia picked Higher Ground Youth & Family Services, which operates a food pantry called "the Bodega," in Anaheim. Asm. Berman selected Second Harvest of Silicon Valley.
“We could not have done this without the help of Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Anna Caballero and lots of willing members and staffers who wanted to take part in this fun and educational challenge,” Wyant added.
Tomato challenge judges included California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross, Vegetables by Bayer’s Jenny Maloney, Tyler Ash and Pieter Westerbeek.
“We are so excited to again be a sponsor of the Great Tomato Challenge. This challenge allows us to spend time growing our own food and understanding the challenges it takes to produce great tasting, high quality fruits and vegetables,” noted Jenny Maloney, global-Americas strategic accounts manager at Bayer CropScience Vegetable Seeds.
The Great Tomato Challenge is made possible by a collaboration between Agri-Pulse and several sponsors who are involved with growing and processing fresh fruits and vegetables, including Vegetables by Bayer, Bonnie Plants, California Women for Agriculture, and DiMare Fresh.
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About Agri-Pulse Communications, Inc.: Agri-Pulse is the most trusted source for farm and rural policy information. With offices in Washington, D.C., Sacramento, California, and Camdenton, Missouri, we provide a balanced perspective on a wide variety of issues, including the farm bill, nutrition, trade, labor, food safety, water, environment, biotechnology, organic, conservation and crop insurance. Agri-Pulse publishes a subscription-only e-newsletter, the Agri-Pulse Daily Harvest early morning news summary, Agri-Pulse Daybreak, Agri-Pulse DriveTime podcast, Agri-Pulse Newsmakers and breaking news on www.Agri-Pulse.com.