After Hurricane Irma hit Florida, farms around north Florida sustained damage. The Frogmore Fresh Farm had 100,000 blueberry plants needed to be re-set. It was a huge job and the farmer is a friend of the University of Florida who stood to lose years of productivity. The University of Florida's Sigma Alpha Fraternity reached out to our Alpha Zeta chapter to ask for more help and our brothers enthusiastically jumped on the project. "We were especially excited to be able to help our community while also getting AZ back into agriculture," said our chapter's president, Virginia Propheter.
On September 16, Alpha Zeta brothers of the Florida chapter drove 1.5 hours to the blueberry farm. Once there, our members split into groups of 2 or 4 and walked the rows of blueberries. We checked each row and put uprooted plants back into the soil and added stakes and ties for support. This was an inspiring event because the farmer only expected a turnout of 20 people, but 200 people from all over the community as well as University of Florida organizations arrived to support their local farmer. "It was great to see the whole community come together to support a local producer," exclaimed AZ brother, Courtney Carroll.