What kept the family business going, he said, was the farm’s roadside stand, which also provided a direct connection to the people who were buying their produce. This sparked an idea and set the stage for what would become the farm’s main source of income: agritourism. “Having conversations with customers, it was really evident that kids lost touch with where their food comes from,” Tanaka said. “My son being in preschool, I thought having his class come out to the farm would be a great experience for them. That’s kind of how it started.” Not just for kids At the time, Tanaka said he thought they were providing more of a community service than embarking on a new business venture. They charged a buck or two per student. His wife, Shirley, would show the children around the farm, after which they would pick vegetables—or during Halloween season, pumpkins. This led to more schools coming to the farm. By the late 1990s, the farm was hosting more than 100 schools. “We thought, gosh, we have a large following. There’s got to be a way to monetize this,” Glenn Tanaka said. They added farm animals and a wagon ride. They also grew more varieties of vegetables—everything from carrots and radishes to onions and green beans. To extend their agritourism season so that it’s not concentrated around the pumpkin patch in the fall, they invited schools in the spring to pick strawberries and added weekends, so entire families could visit. Because many parents also came along on the school tours, Shirley Tanaka said their hope was that the adults would come back on their own time to buy produce from the farm, thereby bringing “more customers and possibly repeat customers.” The tours allowed parents to see how the farm’s crops are grown, and they got to sample the produce. This helped them to inspire their children to eat healthy, she said, which was “our main goal.” “The parents were surprised how their children enjoyed eating the fresh fruits and vegetables, so that was really encouraging,” she said.
By 2005, as their agritourism business took off and as their son was graduating from college, Glenn Tanaka said he began to entertain the idea that “there might be something here on the farm” for his son. Today, Kenny Tanaka maintains the business side of the farm, especially the tours. Shirley Tanaka describes her son as “a big inspiration and a big idea man,” taking after her husband. The younger Tanaka acknowledged he’s not well versed in farming, which the family leaves to Jimmy Otsuka, Glenn Tanaka’s best friend. Otsuka retired from his own farm and now focuses on “doing the thing that he enjoys without worrying about the finances,” Glenn Tanaka said. Educating and entertaining Even though the farm remains small by today’s standards— at about 90 leased acres total—Glenn Tanaka said it
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