Harvest of the Month

Harvest of the Month (HOTM) was created by the California Department of Public Health and features a new produce item every month. By combining tastings with HOTM curricula and materials, children learn to enjoy a variety of different fruits and vegetables while learning fun facts and health benefits about each.

Broccoli is the February Harvest of the Month! 

Here are some fun facts about Broccoli:

• Broccoli has been around for over 2,000 years and has been grown in the United States for more than 200 years. 
• Broccoli was first grown along the Mediterranean coast near Italy.
• Broccoli was first introduced to France in the 1500s and to England in 1720. 
• Despite its popularity through the years, few people knew about broccoli in the United States until the 1920s, when the first commercially grown broccoli was grown and harvested in Brooklyn, New York.
• In 1923, two brothers named Stefano and Andrea D’Arrigo from Messing, Italy, made a trial planting of Italian sprouting broccoli in San Jose, California. A few crates were sent to Boston and by 1925 the broccoli market was established. The D’Arrigo brothers were the first commercial growers in the West to successfully grow and ship box loads of broccoli.  Today, more than 90 percent of commercially produced broccoli in the United States is grown in California.

 Family Newsletter — Broccoli: English [PDF], Spanish [PDF]