Central Coast Avocados will score big on Super Bowl Sunday
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The weekend Farmers' Markets in Santa Barbara and Goleta will be among the places consumers will be loading up on avocados for their Super Bowl Sunday guacamole.
The consumption of avocados is the highest for the year on this day. Analysts at Compass Logistics say 54 million avocados will be mashed up or eaten as a topping on game day.
It's said to be enough to cover a football field with a thick layer.
Carpinteria, Goleta, Ojai and several other areas of the Central Coast are very big avocado producers, and the growers have been meeting the demands for both the game, and the strong ongoing interest in consumers on a regular basis. Avocados are part of the rise in healthy eating habits driven by younger demographics.
In addition to the U.S. avocados, production from Mexico has also been a factor in the sales and popularity of the fruit.
The Santa Barbara Agricultural report for 2022 shows avocados with a production of $59 million and ranked in the top 10 crops.
The Santa Barbara Certified Farmers' Market is set up Friday on Coast Village Road, Saturday on Cota St. at Santa Barbara St. and Sunday at the Camino Real Marketplace.
Some of the growers, especially with multiple varietals of avocados are expected to bring in extra boxes of the fruit to meet the demand.