Foundation Founders Award to A.G. Kawamura

Newport Beach resident A.G. Kawamura has been awarded the Founders

of a New Northwest Award by the Sustainable Northwest Foundation.

Kawamura, a third-generation farmer, is a member of the Orange County

Fair’s Centennial Farm Foundation board of directors. Kawamura also

served on the fair board before being appointed by former Gov. Pete

Wilson to serve on the state Board of Agriculture.

Kawamura was recognized for his charitable activities in aiding the

hungry. During the last two years, Kawamura has donated $29,000 to Common

Ground, an educational project he runs at Marco Forester Middle School in

Capistrano.

Common Ground is an outdoor classroom for 1,550 students that raises

produce for the school lunch program and for Orange County Harvest, a

nonprofit organization that feeds the hungry.

Kawamura has also worked to support food banks by turning vacant land

into cropland under what is called the Farming Agriculture Resource

Management for Sustainability Program.