For the past twenty-seven years, the piece of land was annually leased by Fred Williamson, co-owner of Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce. Williamson stated that this small plot of land was suitable for growing strawberries. What started out as youthful ambition surprisingly continued but however, is on an impending time-bomb of closure. Williamson stated “I’ve never really expected to go on for 27 years … I was just a young kid trying to think I can sell some strawberries, and here we are 27 years later.”

This sole strawberry field may seem like a small patch of land, but even within an evolving city – this patch of land is part of the heritage of the city of Chula Vista. A frequent customer interviewed by The Star News, David Danciu, stated that “sixty acres is a lot. They can have both (commercial and real estate) on the property and still have the strawberry field… we need to keep it for our heritage.”

From an economical approach, supporting a local distributor and producer would be more beneficial for the Chula Vista. Relying heavily on national chain stores can increase the risk of crippling the city’s infrastructure due to national crises such as the Wall Street Crisis of 2008 and potential Stock Market Crashes – which would result in inflation and recession. The example in the next paragraphs will explain this better.

The less that a city depends on external resources, the less likely it shall be affected by an external factor. Let’s put in example a city with plenty of national chained department stores (City A) vs. a city with more local suppliers, producers, artisans, and distributors (City B).

A city like City A has plenty of national department stores and national chain of fast food and or franchises. In the unfortunate event that the national franchises, and or national department stores, shuts down. Consequentially, it has a huge chance of crippling the dependent city's economy, and destroying its infrastructure in the process.

Cities like City B, one that encourages and funds its local producers, artisans, and distributors, and other businesses can just exist independently, and theoretically be well protected from any external threat factor, such as a national financial crisis. Cities similar to City B exist greatly in the northern counties of San Rafael, Napa, and Sonoma to name a few. They emphasize the importance of funding and supporting everything that is local. Support of local economy & industry will help keep local infrastructure functioning. When the recent recession hit, these counties were almost entirely untouched as local businesses provided jobs and revenue for the cities in these counties.

An example of a city that suffered a crippling blow is Vallejo. Located in northern California, it used to be a small suburb and then became a small city. However, it relied heavily on National Chain Stores and Franchises to sustain its resident’s needs. Such companies infiltrated the city swiftly upon invitation. These stores needed manpower and most of the residents obtained their jobs from these companies. For a while, there was a prosperous period and people were content. Upon the occurrences of the Stock Market Crash and Wall Street Crisis of 2008 – a majority of the big companies closed numerous locations within the city, and left with many people’s jobs.

78% of Vallejo’s populace relied on these big companies and national chains. Imagine, crippling seventy-eight percent of a city’s productivity. Within that seventy-eight percent people have lost their ability to pay for ridiculously increasing mortgage as a result of the recession. The only local businesses persisting are the Asian/Pacific Island stores such as Island Market and Seafood City – which are mostly tailored towards the API communities.

Let Vallejo be a great example of why local and time tested industries must be preserved and protected from the advancing avaricious and dirty grasps of national chain companies, and franchises. Let’s not have Chula Vista suffer the same fate, and become a ghost town should crises like the ones aforementioned occur in this uncertain future. One thing is certain, by preserving this small patch of strawberry field; we can protect our local heritage and equip us with another ace against our sleeve against future recessions.

Thank you for reading, and please share this petition with anyone you know – to those who are supportive of local businesses and preserving the heritage of a city.

Call your local city council and voice your concerns at: 619-691-5044

Keep local businesses booming. Keep locally grown fruits growing.
For more on the story go to: http://www.thestarnews.com/latest-news/uncertain-future-for-berry-field