Linden Ag Boosters: Agricultural Education is Paying Off!

To support Linden High School’s flourishing Future Farmers of American program, the Linden Ag Boosters is hosting its fourth annual Farm to Fork Dinner Dance fundraiser Friday, April 17, 2026. The event showcases the FFA students’ talents and puts them to work! It’s an event that gives Linden’s FFA students the chance to show the community how their contributions have helped them learn, grow and succeed.

“The support of our Ag Boosters has been a game changer for our program. We are able to offer more opportunities for our students,” said Jana Colombini, a Linden High agriculture teacher and FFA advisor. “Last year our Ag Boosters purchased a new Chevy truck for us to use for transporting students, hauling animals and everything in between.”

Funds from Ag Boosters events have helped sponsor students to attend conferences, finish a barn, boost student’s livestock projects at San Joaquin Ag Fest, and provide scholarships to Linden High seniors, she said. Event organizers say that the sold-out event has raised between $40,000 to $60,000 a year. “They truly fill a gap in the funding sources of our program and help us ag teachers do our jobs. They support us and believe in advancing agricultural education here in Linden,” Jana said.
As hard as the parents work to put on this showstopping event, the students are pitching in as well. The Farm to Fork event shows off the students’ efforts and accomplishments. Students build projects to be auctioned off. They make wreaths and propagate succulents to sell in a student market that night. The Linden High floral department even makes all the centerpieces for the tables. Students etch souvenir wine and beer glasses for the event, help set up, take down and serve in many other roles throughout the evening.

“They showcase their agricultural projects, welcome and serve guests, and present on the past year’s success of our FFA program,” Jana said. “This allows our guests to really see where their support is going and how it changes the lives of our students. We have something to be proud of here at Linden FFA and it’s always good to let our community see that firsthand.”

A display area is proof that ag education is paying off. “When we decided to put on this event, we wanted to make it about them and their successes and have them be present,” Dena Daluz, president of the Linden Ag Boosters, said. Guests can check out a display that has detailed information on each ag student’s Supervised Agricultural Experience, or SAE, a project that can be anything from organic egg marketing to heirloom seed sales.

“Those projects are part of their grade. That SAE project might not be an animal, it might be raising a flock of chickens and selling their eggs, one student made wine, some weld a tractor trailer,” Dina said. “There are so many that the community doesn’t know about so we created that area so the members of our community could see and realize, wow, look at all the things these kids are doing.”

Linden High School’s FFA program has seen some astounding successes. This past fall, their Ag Sales Team of Ava Avansino, Leah Guido and Abbie Samuel won the state title as a team and Abigail Coussons won the individual. They advanced to the National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis where the team placed third.

Funds that the Ag Boosters raise helped defray some of the travel costs involved in competing. “We also are able to raise money for scholarships,” Gina Billigmeier, chair of the Ag Boosters scholarship committee, said. “We’ve given out $23,000 in scholarships to deserving seniors.”

Gina’s daughter Sydney, a Linden High School senior who is active in FFA, said the students greatly appreciate the support. “The dinner is so beneficial to our program,” Sydney affirmed. “In FFA, we are always doing so many activities and they are a big help.” She has helped at the dinner/dance since its inception. “I’ve been a greeter, I’ve helped sell raffle tickets,” she said. “I’ve served and cleared plates.”

Sara Cowan, Ag Boosters fundraising chair, said the group has other fundraisers throughout the year, including a Turkey Bingo in November for which the prizes are turkeys the students raised. “It’s become an annual event that people really look forward to attending,” Sara said. “The first year, we started out with 250 attendees and last year we sold out at 400.

“We are very grateful for the support of one big booster. The Sambado Family and Prima Frutta donate the venue and all the tables and chair because we piggyback off their cherry grower dinner,” she said. “We are so thankful to them.”

Tickets are $100 per person and can be purchased by calling Sara at (209) 603-4694. Follow the Linden FFA on Instagram @linden_ffa46.