Over 25 years ago Fresno State learned if you grow it, they will come. The sweetest sweet corn grows on 85 acres on campus.
Vikki Hovren of the Gibson Farm Market said, "The corn is a great symbol that summer is here. Once corn has arrived, summer has arrived."
And so have the crowds. The heavy traffic isn't for a concert at the Save Mart Center. People are packing the campus farm market to buy sweet corn. Four for a buck so shoppers pack them by the bagful.
People are all business by the bins but even the little ones know this is a great deal. Folks happily walk off as if they found a holiday bargain. Teresa Sciaqua explained, "This corn, once it's out, you've got to come and buy it because it's the greatest flavored I've ever tasted."
Fresno State Ag Lab Director Ganesan Srinivasan says the corn's freshness makes its taste stand out. It's picked and immediately sold. Srinivasan said, "It is hand harvested. It is picked at the right time for optimum sweetness and tenderness."
For weeks anxious customers have been asking about the harvest. Srinivasan said, "When the corn came it went through word of mouth, through twitter and Facebook."
Marlene Covey of Fresno added, "Oh it is the sweetest corn. The best corn. I love it. I've been waiting and waiting and waiting and I saw it on your program last night watching the news and said I'm over there."
The farm market produces its own milk and meat but here, corn is king. Harvest lasts through Labor Day.
