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Recent USDA Award Recipients
The Spreading of “Pumpkin Joy”
Each season, AMF Farms grows about 100 acres of miniature pumpkins for the fall and Halloween season. AMF Farms not only grows the pumpkins, but also decorates them. In 2000, AMF Farms developed its signature Pumpkin Patch Pals®. The pals are a vibrant crew of individually hand decorated, painted mini pumpkins with happy, festive character faces and distinctive, feathery hair.
Pumpkin Patch Pals® are enjoyed by everyone! In autumn, you can find them throughout the United States and hopefully, you will find them in the Progressive Groceries of your neighborhood too! Terrific thought is put into each Pumpkin Patch Pal® character. They are all named and considered a part of the AMF Farms pumpkin patch family.
Michele Youngquist, AMF Farms President and Co-founder, has been in the pumpkin painting business for the past 16 years. Originally, Michele farmed several crops before specializing in miniature painted pumpkins.
Liz Mitchell, Vice President and co-founder, joined Michele in a new pumpkin patch about 5 years ago. With a background in marketing and materials development, she designs and develops all the pumpkin patch characters.
Together Michele and Liz completely focus their time on the marketing, production and cutting-edge creation of new Pumpkin Patch Pals® characters for each fall. Working from the AMF Farms, Inc. pumpkin decorating facility in Burlington, WA, Michele and Liz have also developed a proprietary painting and production process that is able to provide consistent, top quality miniature painted pumpkins.
Pumpkin Patch Pals® are an excellent seasonal product. Their uniformly round, petite size makes them perfect party favors, restaurant table decorations, school and sports team fund-raisers, and special event memorabilia. Each pumpkin is also UPC coded and conveniently packaged in a bright and cheerful, hassle free, countertop, ready to display case.
For those interested in creating their own pumpkin character, Pumpkin Patch Pals® Paint Kits also are available. Each kit contains 6 miniature pumpkins, a non-toxic multicolor paint pot strip and paintbrush along with easy-to-follow designs. These paint kits have been rated # 1 by Northwest teachers and students. They are excellent for activity centers in schools and fall festival parties. Recommended for ages 4 & up, the kids love them!
Introducing the Farm Fresh Pals TM Brand:
The Farm Fresh Pals TM character products are based upon The Pumpkin Patch Pals ®, an already proven and successful product model. The Pumpkin Patch Pals ® were first developed and marketed for the seasonal fall & Halloween markets. Over the last several years, the painted pumpkin characters have been sold nationally in the major grocery chains and box stores in the produce departments.
Target marketed to the children's market, ages 3 and up, consumers relate well to the Pumpkin Patch Pals® positive and happy characters. End users look at the "Pals" as more than just a pumpkin.
The names and character profiles that have been developed for each of the Pumpkin Patch Pals® has given them unique characteristics, making them more lifelike and building a positive emotional connection with the end user.
Focus groups using three separate 3rd grade classrooms in Skagit County, WA have found that the Pumpkin Patch Pals ® characters literally became the "friends" of the participating students. Each student was able to choose a "Pal" to work with. The Pumpkin Patch Pals ® were then used in various forms of educational activities such as nutrition, history of the pumpkin, language arts and art. According to the teachers and students interviewed, "the Pumpkin Patch Pals ® made learning more fun!" Children were able to relate better to the subject matter when using the "Pals" as the catalyst.
In 2005, the Pumpkin Patch Pals ® storybook, audio CD and classroom teaching materials will be introduced in many northern California schools. Sponsored by the Northern California Farm Bureau, second and third grade classrooms will be using the Pumpkin Patch Pals ® learning program throughout the month of October.
A Commitment to Quality Nutrition and Responsible Sustainable Agriculture:
AMF Farms, Inc. has recently been awarded a coveted USDA grant award. "Our plan is to use the Pals as "Spokes Pals, so to speak, to encourage children to consume more fruits and vegetable in their daily diets." Each character is committed to the teaching of good nutritional practices and sustainable agriculture to children in a fun and entertaining way, through a storybook, audio CD and electronic animation media.
The Farm Fresh Pals TM Brand characters were created around a world of agriculture in Northwest Washington State or locally known as the Majestic Skagit Valley.
The Farm Fresh Pals TM brand is in the process of developing characters for various produce commodities, such as potatoes, known as the Spudz TM, apples, known as the "Apple Gang" and melons, known as the "Melon Maniacs". Additionally, the Farm Fresh Pals TM characters included other products for branding by label, such as different varieties of berries, known as the "Berry Bunch", and the "Honey Bees".
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