Life Of A Raisin

How raisins get from the vine to that little box on your lunch tray

1 Raisins begin their lives as grapes.  The grapevines bloom in spring and by the end of summer the vines are full of juicy grapes.

2 The ripe grapes are picked from the vines and put onto large trays on the vineyard floor.  For the next two to three weeks they bask in the California sun which turns them that trademark dark color. Which reminds me, always wear sunscreen for a day at the beach!

3 The raisins are then put into large wooden bins, checked for proper moisture content and put onto trucks for a ride to the packing plant. 

4 At the packing plant, the raisins are checked for quality and put through big machines called “hoppers” which separate anything that’s not a raisin (stems and such) from the things that are raisins.

5 After a good washing and another check for foreign objects, the raisins are weighed and packed into packages ranging from snack size boxes to gigantic boxes for restaurants.

6 The raisins once again are put on board trucks and delivered all over the world – including to your school! 

Play with your food check out the Raisin Box Kazoo