Reedley farmer’s free nectarine giveaway draws huge crowds, continues despite push to stop. (Photo: FOX26 News Reporter Mayra Franco)
REEDLEY, Calif. (FOX26) — We told you Monday about a Reedley farmer giving away free nectarines after he said an ongoing legal battle has prevented him from selling his crop.
The giveaway drew such a large turnout Tuesday that it was temporarily shut down for safety reasons. The California Highway Patrol responded to help manage heavy traffic and parking as crowds poured into the orchards.
FOX26 News reporter Mayra Franco returned Wednesday as the giveaway resumed for another day, where even after 10 a.m., people were still arriving to line up for fruit.
For Cesar Mora, what should be a profitable harvest has instead turned into a financial loss, due to the ongoing legal battle.
“But the year-after-year loss of this has been the burden,” Mora said. “We’re going to make it through. My family’s supporting me. My mom’s the one feeding me these days.”
Still, Mora says he chose to open his orchard to the public rather than let the fruit go to waste.
“I was just trying to do what I felt was right and not waste food, not waste fruit,” he said. “It’s obvious that people enjoyed it because they’re out here lining up for it, even waiting an hour to get it.”
Mora says the response has been overwhelming.
His son, Christian Mora, said people began arriving hours before staff arrived.
“It was amazing to see,” he said.
He also said some visitors even offered to help.
John and Roseanne, who traveled from Caruthers, said they wanted to help financially, but Mora refused cash donations.
“It’s a nice thing what they’re doing,” they said. “Too bad that they’re going through what they’re going through.”
Others, like Maria Lisa Salazar of Easton, said the effort means a lot and is grateful that Cesar would rather bless the community than let the produce go to waste.
“I think it would be nice just to have a tip jar, but I understand where he’s coming from,” she said.
But Mora says the generosity is now facing pushback.
“I have... cease and desist letters trying to shut this down and insisting that I let the fruit rot on the tree,” Mora said. “Honestly, I’m not okay with that. I don’t understand their purpose behind it.”
Despite that, he says he plans to continue the giveaways as long as possible.
“They’re really giving me support, blessings,” Mora said. “I had people praying out here for me.”
A GoFundMe has been created to help cover Mora’s legal expenses.
He says the legal costs of fighting a large agricultural company are overwhelming and would take years to recover from, especially after the losses, he’s already endured.
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