Buy USDA Organic Grapefruit, Help South Bay Citrus Feed Others

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — When most of their summer plans were canceled due to COVID-19, three Mira Costa High School students found something else to do: Start a business and fight food insecurity while bringing USDA certified organic fruit to market. The trio, Jack Crawford, Jonathan Graves and Adam Goldstein of Manhattan Beach, had wanted to start a business together but never found "a solid idea," said Jack. When they realized one of them had a family ranch with USDA certified organic fruit, they decided to dig in. South Bay Citrus was born.

"Throughout the school year, we constantly were brainstorming ways to create a successful business," Jack told Manhattan Beach Patch. "The opportunity arose that we could sell grapefruit from a family ranch. We wanted to be productive during summer and learn about business." In addition, South Bay Citrus is donating 25% of their profit and fruit to LA Food Bank and other local agencies that give food to those in need.

The trio is off to a fast start, with local specialty shop Grow impressed enough with their grapefruit to put it on Grow's shelves. Barry Fisher, Grow founder and export of fruits and vegetables, told MB Patch he was "impressed" by the trio and the quality of their grapefruit.

South Bay Citrus is selling their grapefruit, small and large and Valencia oranges via subscription and custom packages with door step delivery. Right now, they are harvesting grapefruit and oranges. A monthly or weekly subscription is available for grapefruit in three sizes. A small package consists of 3 grapefruit for $8; medium is 6 grapefruit for $14, and large is 10 grapefruit for $20. Custom packages, which are not available as a subscription, start at $3. Fruit options are Valencia oranges for $3 each, and small and large grapefruits for $1.50 and $2.50, respectively.

"We pick our grapefruits when they are ripe, so some are smaller considerably than others," said Jack. "The small grapefruits are roughly 4.5 inches in diameter while the large ones are roughly 6 inches in diameter."

The soon-to-be Mira Costa seniors aren't yet sure if South Bay Citrus will become a year-round business while they're in school. But they do say COVID-19 pushed their awareness of food insecurity. "More than ever, the situation [COVID-19] highlighted the food insecurity in the United States and Los Angeles. We wanted to have a positive impact in our community and we wanted to use our business as a way to help others. We started selling our produce to not only learn more about business, but to try to make as big of an impact on the food insecurity crisis as possible."

South Bay Citrus' fruit is grown on a 5-acre ranch in Temecula. The primary crop is grapefruit, and they also grow limes, lemons, and oranges, as well as avocados. Jack told Manhattan Beach Patch that because of the ranch's size, it's not too hard to maintain. There is regular weekly maintenance and daily watering through a built-in sprinkler system. They go at least once a week to pick and maintain their crops.

South Bay Citrus can be reached by calling (310) 528-4226 or by email sent to southbaycitrus@gmail.com.