Ever wondered what it takes to bring a community of foodies together? Jordan Burrow, founder of the popular Facebook group, Central Valley Foodies, joins us to share his gastronomic journey and how he's been promoting farm-to-table eating. Jordan spills his plans for the group including expansion and creating more engaging video content. Alongside this, we dish up the local happenings in the Hanford community, from City Council meetings to Hanford High School's sports. Don't miss out on the Yuletide cheer.
Our conversation continues at Acai Bar, a new local eatery in Hanford that specializes in acai bowls - a great example of sourcing ingredients from local farms. Jordan emphasizes why local sourcing matters and how it revolutionizes our food industry. We'll also keep you in the loop with the latest civic matters like the future tax measure, council reorganization, the Hanford Civic Auditorium's renovation, and the introduction of a sports field permit fee. Add a dash of culture as we discuss the upcoming Holiday performances and the intriguing Retalhos exhibition at the Carnegie Museum. Tune in for an in-depth look at all things Hanford - food, community, culture, and civic issues.
You can find the Hanford Insider at www.hanfordinsider.com and on social media at @hanfordinsider Thank you for supporting the show!
Ever wondered what it takes to bring a community of foodies together? Jordan Burrow, founder of the popular Facebook group, Central Valley Foodies, joins us to share his gastronomic journey and how he's been promoting farm-to-table eating. Jordan spills his plans for the group including expansion and creating more engaging video content. Alongside this, we dish up the local happenings in the Hanford community, from City Council meetings to Hanford High School's sports. Don't miss out on the Yuletide cheer.
Our conversation continues at Acai Bar, a new local eatery in Hanford that specializes in acai bowls - a great example of sourcing ingredients from local farms. Jordan emphasizes why local sourcing matters and how it revolutionizes our food industry. We'll also keep you in the loop with the latest civic matters like the future tax measure, council reorganization, the Hanford Civic Auditorium's renovation, and the introduction of a sports field permit fee. Add a dash of culture as we discuss the upcoming Holiday performances and the intriguing Retalhos exhibition at the Carnegie Museum. Tune in for an in-depth look at all things Hanford - food, community, culture, and civic issues.
You can find the Hanford Insider at www.hanfordinsider.com and on social media at @hanfordinsider Thank you for supporting the show!
Speaker 1:
On this episode of the Hanford Insider, Jordan Burrow from Central Valley Foodies stops by to tell us about the foodie scene in the Central Valley. Rob gives us highlights of Tuesday's City Council meeting and I'll be back with all of the high school basketball and soccer action. This is your Hanford Insider for Monday, December 11th.
Speaker 2:
Welcome to this episode of the Hanford Insider. I'm your host, rob Bentley. I'd like to thank you for listening. Be sure to stop by my website at HanfordInsidercom and leave a review of the show. It really helps grow the podcast. The weather this week will be partly cloudy, with temperatures in the mid-60s. There is a chance of rain this weekend.
Speaker 2:
The Hanford City Council met on Tuesday, december 5th. Here are some of the highlights of the meeting. In the afternoon study session, the major topic was a discussion about a future tax measure to help the city meet its needs for public safety and infrastructure. All of the city departments gave a report of specific problems that they are facing with limited budget funds and increasing costs. The council agreed that a tax measure needs to be looked at in the near future but would not proceed without committee input, with a goal of at least 30 community members participating in the discussion. The regular meeting began with recognition of the new Hidden Valley fitness courts instructors, ashlyn Mora and Eligard Julian Mora. Ashlyn was also recognized for her social media posts for the Hanford Winter Wonderland. There was also a badge pending an oath of office given to Hanford Police officers Michael Angel and Wesley Corral.
Speaker 2:
During the public comment there was a heated discussion over a letter received from TNT fireworks that the fire marshal was going to limit the number of fireworks stands in 2024 to just 15 stands. They would be selected by lottery. The city manager clarified that no such action was proposed or taken. He'll be following up with TNT fireworks and the fire marshal. This starts with Wente's stress that the council is the only body that can make such a unilateral decision. I'd like to give props to all the community groups that showed up to voice their concern over the issue. Even though I'm not personally a big fan of fireworks, I can appreciate the great work that community groups do each year with the funds that are raised.
Speaker 2:
The reorganization of the council wasn't much of a reorganization. After all. Travis Payton was re-elected as the mayor of Hanford for 2024 and Mark Kyrus was re-elected as the vice mayor. The council also renewed a contract to hire a falconer to drive the massive amount of crows out of the downtown area. In preparation of the 100th anniversary of the Hanford Civic Auditorium in 2025, the council approved a major flooring and ceiling project of the Hanford Civic Auditorium, along with a new interior paint job. The building will be closed for much of the first half of 2024. For this work to take place, the council created the establishment of a sport field permit fee to be set at $2.50 per field an hour, effective July 1, 2024, with an allowance of a fee reduction offset of 25% based on repairs and maintenance provided by the sports leagues. The Parks and Community Services Department created an advisory committee which included board members from the youth leagues to come up with a fair agreement. It puts Hanford in line with other communities which charge a sport field permit fee. The city's long-term goal is to try to recover at least 25% of the actual cost of maintenance, water and utilities. Future increases will become part of the city budgeting process. The council also extended the contract of city manager Mario Sufentes for an additional year.
Speaker 2:
Councilman Lou Martinez brought up the history of the Longfield Center and the need for more times that the neighborhood kids could come in and use the facilities if they're not enrolled in one of the city programs. The council agreed that the issue needs to be looked at and will be put on the agenda as a study item in the future. It's good to hear that the next step in the process of restoring the historic King's Hand Laundry building into a museum is being completed. The China Alley Preservation Society announced that the ADA compliant ramp to the back door is being completed this week. The building on Green Street across from China Alley was owned by Naomi Tagawa and donated to the China Alley Preservation Society. For more information, visit chinaallycom. It was also great to hear that Hanford's own Tyler Henry, the Hollywood medium, stepped up when he heard that the Church of the Saviors soup kitchen needed a new refrigerator. He donated $10,000 to cover the cost of a new unit and associated electrical work, just in time for the holiday meals.
Speaker 2:
Let's check our community calendar. Casa of Kings County is sponsoring Kicks for Casa. They are seeking donations with shoes and socks this winter season. You can drop off your donations at several locations, including Kings County Fire Station number 5, jh Tackett Marketing, hanford Grocery Outlet, mike's Grill and Fast Credit Union. The Storybook Garden Museum is holding a very merry Princess Christmas party on Saturday December 9th and a pajama party with Santa Claus on Friday December 15th. You can register for both events at childrenstorybookgardenorg. On Tuesday December 12th, adventist Health Center will be holding a special tree lighting ceremony at 6 pm in the courtyard patio in support of hospice services. The public is invited.
Speaker 2:
Don't forget Hanford Winter. Winterland is open in the Civic Auditorium Park through January 7th. If you haven't seen it yet, you have to stop by. It's amazing this year Visit hanfordwinterwinterlandcom for more information about all of the fun activities. The annual Christmas Decorating Contest has begun. Hanford Holiday on Facebook and Instagram is hosting the annual Home Decorating Contest. Stop by their pages for more information. This week is your last chance to see the Hattala's exhibition of Portuguese history at the Carnegie Museum of Kings County. The museum is open Friday, saturday and Sunday for 1-5 pm. For more information, visit Carnegie Museum of Kings Countyorg.
Speaker 2:
The annual Hanford Rock and Rudolph Run will be held Sunday, december 17th. It's a two-mile run or walk through the streets of downtown Hanford, starting and ending at Hanford Winterwinterland. It begins at 7.30 am. The event supports the Hanford Police Activities League Program. Register at RunSignUpcom. You can visit the Hanford Rock and Rudolph Facebook page for more information. The Hanford Department of Parks and Community Services will be holding the kids' winter camp during Christmas Vacation weekdays from 7.30 to 5.30 pm. You can get more information and register your child on the city website at hanfordcity. Mark your calendars now for the Kings Players and Children's Storybook Garden and Museum Murder Mystery Dinner on April 20th 2024.
Speaker 2:
I want to let you know that I'm planning a special Christmas episode on Christmas Day for my YouTube channel. I'm looking for more local musicians willing to submit videos or their performances so that I can put together a Christmas special for my listeners to enjoy. I've already received several videos. If you're interested, contact me and I'll give you more information. I'll be grabbing events as I see them on the Hanford Sentinel calendar and social media pages. If you have an event coming up and you'd like to help getting the word out, let's work together. Send your information to HanfordInsider at gmailcom. Okay, well, we're here with Jordan Burrow, who is the founder of the Central Valley Foodies Facebook page. Jordan, how are you doing? Welcome to the show, thank you. Thanks for having me on, hey, jordan. So tell me a little bit about how you started the foodie group and where people can find you and, kind of, what's it all about?
Speaker 3:
So Central Valley Foodies is a place where you can really explore all the small Central Valley hidden gym food spots within the Central Valley. And it really started with the Facebook group. It's kind of the heart and soul of the foodie action here and so it started as a Facebook group that was just based for Hanford and LeMore and at that time it was called Hanford and LeMore Foodies and it was created by originally by an author. His name is Jason Koyve I believe I want to make sure I'm saying that right, but I believe it's Koyve and he's a LeMore resident author and he created it as just a place for Hanford and LeMore residents to go on there and review places deep within Hanford and LeMore. And it was just a review site, so just for those hidden gems in those areas.
Speaker 3:
And I'm originally from Portland, oregon, and moved here to the Valley about 10 years ago and when I moved here I was always just trying to find fun things to do here in Central Valley and I came across the page and became a member and started reviewing all these places to eat and just had fun with it. Food has always kind of been my thing. I've had a lot of different jobs in the restaurant industry through the years Working in front of the house, back of the house and growing up in Portland. I always like to go try different places to eat. That's a big foodie city so it's always a fun thing to do. And so I was a kind of had the passion for, you know, reviewing and getting into foodies and stuff that way with the page.
Speaker 3:
And Jason reached out to me one day and he saw my passion and really said you know, I'd like for you to take this thing over. He literally said. He literally said he's like I want to get the f off Facebook. He's like I don't want to be online anymore. He goes I want somebody to take it over who's passionate and younger. And I was honored as I just so I took it over. He kind of showed me what to do on the back end side of things and I just fell in love with it even more and I was searching for ways to kind of to branch it out and get this to more people. And you know I know you mentioned you were part of the page for a long time too.
Speaker 2:
When it was Sanford and Visalia, and then it just kind of took off from there, didn't it yeah?
Speaker 3:
I just kind of took off from there and you know I had noticed from being a member previously that people always wanted to talk about places in Fresno and talk about places and Bakersfield. But that was never allowed previously because the heart of the page was just Hanford and Lamor. But Jason said you know it's yours to do with it what you want you can. As long as you kind of keep the original intent, you can do what you want with it. So I rebranded it and decided to call it Central Valley Foodies and you know, kind of took off from there. Let everybody know that you can now start talking about all these different places within the Valley. And then I started getting into content creation and wanted to start making videos. And that's kind of just how everything started. Yeah.
Speaker 2:
I've seen some stuff online. It's really good stuff. So as the page started to grow, you started to get more interest and people wanting to participate and I would imagine moderating, kind of like a foodies page or subject to you know, the keyboard warriors who want to complain or they want to, you know, say, how do you moderate all of this?
Speaker 3:
So I have two people that helped me. Both were members of the group for a while now Tyler Troll and Jerome Melgar. I want to give them both a shout out so they helped me kind of. You know, approve and deny requests coming in, make sure we're not getting any spammers, fake accounts, people from LA, people who don't belong in the Valley, and they kind of really helped me moderate. As far as comments, you know some nasty comments. You know most of it's pretty positive it's. We have a really good you know, positive, I think friendly environment for the most part. But you know, occasionally you'll get some naysayers or just people kind of draw the line and we kind of just use our own best judgment with judgment with that stuff as far as keeping that stuff to a limit and it's, it's gotten a lot better and there's there's not too much of that.
Speaker 2:
So was there one particular type of food or restaurant that people comment on the most?
Speaker 3:
They comment on the most. Yeah, mexican food is really popular here. You know, being the Central Valley, we got a huge Hispanic population and you know steak restaurants is a big thing. You know everyone wants a good steak restaurant here in Hanford.
Speaker 2:
Hanford wants a steak restaurant.
Speaker 3:
Yes, so, you know, I know a couple people that are aiming to do that right now in the area and I hope they do it, because what they're doing right now would be really good.
Speaker 2:
That's how I found Cheyenne's in Kingsburg was through the page.
Speaker 3:
Someone had commented.
Speaker 2:
Oh, hanford needs a steakhouse. You should try Cheyenne's.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, I've been meaning to go there. Yeah, yeah, you've been there. Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah, it looks really good. I can't wait to try it.
Speaker 2:
So what are your plans for the future for the page? I mean, you talked about expanding maybe, your social media presence, trying some more video. What are you looking forward to?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, so I kind of just been as a content creator. It's kind of just just trying, just just trying, trying, trying and it is how you learn and grow and stuff like that. So I've definitely had trial and error with creating all my videos. You can look back at some of my early Instagram videos and they're just freaking horrible. And people people who are professionals in the field and that probably see my stuff they're probably laughing at my earliest stuff versus now, and I'm nowhere near where I even want to be.
Speaker 2:
I'm still kind of growing you know, as far as it's a process, I have the same same, but you know it's painstaking but it's fun to just, you know, crumple up the paper, start again.
Speaker 3:
It's just kind of how you learn. But starting that Facebook group or doing the Facebook group and growing that and rebranding it, that itself was a challenge. And then, but I wanted more ways of people to find it. So, obviously, utilizing social media, it's key to kind of just be on all the platforms if you can. So that's why I created the Instagram. I'm really active on Instagram with that account, TikTok. We're on TikTok YouTube. I've created some interviews with the small food business owners and farmers within the Central Valley. So that's kind of what it's looking like right now. Long term, I'm looking at possibly some different things for the channels, Maybe some subscriptions and stuff like that. Long term, If that's something that everybody's interested in, I'm kind of just taking it one day at a time and see how things go and kind of seeing what the audience likes and creating stuff that people want to see.
Speaker 2:
All right, so I've got one more question for you, and so what do you feel is like the most underrated or overlooked aspect of the local food industry that you wish more people knew about? Obviously, you have that background from Portland and you see how the restaurants locally are handling things. What are some things that you wish people would know about the restaurant industry from the foodie side of things.
Speaker 3:
I think the sourcing, the sourcing of ingredients, is really important.
Speaker 3:
It's something that's a personal passion for me is farm to table eating. It's something I'm just super passionate about and right here in Central Valley we're arguably the most productive agricultural region in the country, if not the world, and a lot of people aren't aware of that, that even have grown up here and people from out of the area as well. And that's something that's kind of baffled me is the access to that stuff can be so far away Like we live here in the most productive region for that, yet that food can seem so far away because we export so much of it and much of our local restaurant scene is not utilizing that produce and there's so many benefits Like I could go into the benefits of eating farm to table from a sustainability standpoint, but also as far as like a nutrient density standpoint. Having worked on a farm closely myself a family farm the nutrients and the soil and all that stuff. There's a lot of importance to that. It's just a matter of educating, I think, people and kind of really presenting that.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I like going into places, even places like Aldi or something like that some of these restaurants that will list where they source their food from. I think that's a very cool thing to do and you bring up a valid point Now before we go. Obviously, our listeners are listening to a lot of background noise and we're in a very special place today. It's a new place in Hanford. Can you tell us a little bit about our host today and then you can go ahead and plug your social media channels?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, I want to make sure I'm saying this, all right, but I believe. So we're in Oslo Ibar, downtown Hanford off. What is this, erwin?
Speaker 1:
Erwin and Lacey.
Speaker 3:
Erwin and.
Speaker 3:
Lacey, and so they started out as a food trailer. I found them on social media as well, and they specialize in acai bowls. Acai is a berry and I believe it's from Brazil I hope I'm saying that right, but I believe it's from Brazil and basically that's the base of the bowls they create and the bowls they top with various toppings fruit, nuts, seeds, and it's just a really healthy alternative to other things you could get for lunch or as a snack or ice cream. And it's really pretty. You look at these things. It's really eye catching and captureable, and this new location is really cool.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, well, it's certainly nice to have them here in downtown Hanford. I was sharing a picture of the former tenants in this building years ago from the 50s. It was called Alice's Band Box and a lot of Hanford residents have fond memories of this. It's kind of like a soda fountain, like you'd see in Back to the Future. So it's so nice to see this building put back to use in definitely downtown Hanford. It's a very picturesque spot. We're looking at the winter wonderland across the street. All the leaves are coming down. This is an excellent afternoon. Jordan, I'd like to thank you for coming on the show. Can you run?
Speaker 2:
your social media channels by us one more time, so people can find you.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, of course. So we're on Facebook. Facebook's still the heart of the whole thing. We have about 16,000 followers on the Facebook group right now and it's growing every day. Very active on Instagram. I run all the accounts. Reach out to me personally if you have any questions. We're also on TikTok and we have shows up on YouTube and we're looking at possibly getting a podcast going. Well, that's great. Thanks again, jordan. Yeah, thank you for having me.
Speaker 2:
And now it's time for Hanford Insider Sports with Eric Bentley.
Speaker 1:
Let's get you caught up on last week's action and as basketball season continues to roll on, we'll start there. The Hanford High School girls were one and two in their three games over the week, dropping their two games to central and a manual, but were able to bounce back with a 52-46 win in overtime against Reedley. The Hanford West girls took on Roosevelt, but weren't able to come away with a win in that one. And on the boys' basketball side, the Bullpups had four games last week where they went two and two. The most exciting finish, a 63-57 win in three over times against Rageddy. They were also able to secure an eight-point victory over Lompoc. The Bullpups dropped their other two games to Eldiamonte and Frontier. Hanford West boys were also in action four times this week, and they were four close games. Unfortunately, though, they could not find the win column, dropping those ones to Redwood, dynuba, sunnyside and Emanuel. And if you're wondering about Sierra Pacific, well, don't worry, I didn't leave them out. Neither the boys or the girls were in action this past week.
Speaker 1:
Now on to soccer restought with the Hanford High girls as they went one-one and one this past week. The one win, a one-to-nothing victory over Fresno Christian. The loss, a four-to-one defeat against Atascadero and the tie came with Sanger. As neither team was able to find a goal, that one ended nothing-nothing. The Hanford West girls picked up a four-goal victory, with a 6-2 win over Strathmore, and the Sierra Pacific girls split two lopsided matches a 7-0 win over Kalinga and then a 4-0 loss against Eldiamonte. On the boys side, it was the Bullpups as the only Hanford team to pick up a win this past week. In fact they picked up two, as they took down Liberty 6-4 and Corothers 1-0. The loss came to Fowler in a 1-0 match and the draw was to Roosevelt. That one finished 1-1. Neither the Huskies nor the Golden Bears boys were able to pick up a win, as Hanford West dropped their two games to Corcoran and Kalinga. Sierra Pacific played three matches and lost all of those by one goal falling to Kalinga, paso Robles and Bullard, and football season may be over, but that means end of the season.
Speaker 1:
Accolades, and Hanford High was not lacking in that department when the WYL released their selections, so big congratulations. We'll start with Cordy Glass, who was named the West Yosemite League Player of the Year. Daniel Gomez was named the West Yosemite League Offensive Player of the Year and Kenan Sanchez the WYL Coach of the Year, but the awards weren't done just yet, as five other players garnered first team honors. On the offensive side, it was Jordan Black Glass, zephaniah Cece and Chase Lopez, and on defense, albert Richardson and Joey Munoz, so a very fitting way to cap off an impressive season for the Bullpubs. As always, if you're listening and you want more coverage on your team, feel free to send stats, scores or stories from your favorite team to Hanford Insider at gmailcom. I'm Eric Bentley and this has been your Hanford Insider Sports Report.
Speaker 2:
Well, that's it for today's show. If you enjoyed the show, I'd like to ask you to leave a review on your podcast player or on our website. It helps me with the growth of the show. If you'd like to join the Hanford Insider email list, stop by our website at HanfordInsidercom to sign up for updates. I also need your help getting the word out about the show by liking, sharing on social media or telling a friend For more information about the show. You can find this podcast on Facebook, instagram, threads X and YouTube at Hanford Insider. If you have a show idea, be sure to email me at HanfordInsider at gmailcom and I'll get going on it. Thanks for listening. Have a great week. I'll see you next time.