Sunflower Farm Stand isn’t your typical roadside fresh produce stand. This family-owned operation has quite literally “gone viral”, transforming shopping for farm-fresh produce into an agritourism experience. Whether you’re a Central California local, or traveling through on your way to Yosemite or Sequoia National Park, Sunflower Farm Stand is worth the detour. Visitors can shop for gorgeous California-grown produce, create a bouquet at the U-pick sunflower and zinnia fields, meet and greet the resident goats, and enjoy fun seasonal events throughout the year. 

Family farming: Four generations strong

While Sunflower Farm Stand’s Sanger location is relatively new, the Stromby family’s roots in California agriculture run deep. For Matthew Stromby, whose father founded Sunflower Farm Stand, the business is the continuation of a family farming legacy that stretches back four generations.

“My great-grandpa moved here from Italy to farm table grapes,” Matthew explains. “From then on, it’s gone into plums. My grandpa grew plums, my dad has grown stone fruit, and now I’m studying ag business and plant science at Cal Poly.” He proudly adds, “I’m excited to carry on the family business.”

Prior to launching Sunflower Farm Stand in 2023, the Stromby family operated a successful fruit stand in Centerville  for over 20 years. Matthew’s father decided to relocate the family business when a highway expansion made pulling off the road more challenging for potential customers. The new location is ideal – close enough to retain regular customers, but with the added benefit of attracting tourist traffic. Matthew explains, “This location is convenient because it’s right next to where we grow all of our peaches, plums, and nectarines, and apricots, and it’s a perfect spot for tourists and local people to come by and purchase whatever fresh fruit or vegetables that they need.” 

California Grown produce. No exceptions.

Sunflower Farm Stand is stocked exclusively with California-grown produce. While much of the fruit comes directly from the family’s own farms, the stand also partners with growers throughout the state to offer an expanded selection of seasonal produce.

“Everything at our fruit stand is California Grown,” Matthew says,  “and most of the fruit we feature is from our farms. We grow all of our peaches, plums, nectarines, apricots, cherries, avocados, and oranges. We do source our mangoes from San Diego, but our kiwis, our strawberries, our pomegranates in the fall, and our persimmons are all sourced between the Reedley and Sanger area.”

Sunflower Farms offers an ever-changing selection of fruits and vegetables, but Matthew notes that customers get particularly excited about stone fruit season.

“California, especially Fresno County, is known for its stone fruit,” Matthew states. “Our peaches, plums, and nectarines are very, very good, and that’s what draws a lot of people into our fruit stand.”

Stone fruit fans also appreciate that Sunflower Farms offers unique stone fruit varieties that aren’t available at most grocery stores, including freestone peaches, 35 different varieties of pluots, and a cherry-plum hybrid called a “chum.” Laughing at the name, Matthew explains, “It tastes just like a cherry and a plum put together. They’re super, super good. Those are our favorite.” 

Connecting Consumers to Agriculture

Agriculture education is at the heart of the Sunflower Farm Stand experience. Matthew believes agritourism experiences like U-pick flowers, photo ops and farm animals help attract new customers to create meaningful connections between growers + consumers, helping people to understand where their food (and flowers) really come from. “Our business is built on agritourism,” he says. “It allows people to see where their fruit is being grown, and where they can source it locally.”

Whether visitors come for the fruit or the flowers, Sunflower Farm Stand hopes they leave with a deeper appreciation of California agriculture – and that choosing CA GROWN produce isn’t just a delicious choice, it helps protect the future of small family farms across the state.

What to Do at Sunflower Farm Stand

After visiting the farm stand, there’s so much more to do at Sunflower Farm Stand! 

Pick a beautiful bouquet

The farm’s eponymous sunflower fields attract visitors from across the state. Sunflower Farms encourages guests to wander down the rows of sunflowers and zinnias and create the perfect bouquet. The farm’s signature attraction is its U-pick sunflower field, where visitors can wander among rows of vibrant blooms and create their own bouquets.

Load a basket with U-pick vegetables

The overwhelming success of the U-pick flower fields inspired the Stromby family to expand their offerings. They plan on offering seasonal U-pick vegetables in 2026, including tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants and chiles. 

Shop local products

Don’t skip the farm shop, where guests will find fresh berries, dried fruit + nuts, local honey, homemade jams and jellies, local lemonade, gift baskets and local artwork. Fun fact: Matthew’s aunt makes all of the jams, gift baskets and artwork sold on-site!

Meet the goats

What’s a farm visit without friendly farm animals? Head to the back of Sunflower Farm to greet – and even feed – the resident goats. 

Photo ops on the farm

On your agritourism adventure at Sunflower Farms, be sure to bring your phone or a camera. There are plenty of photo ops and opportunities for (soon-to-be viral) videos. In fact, Matthew credits social media with helping to fuel the farm’s popularity. “Almost every other person that comes in has seen us on Facebook or Instagram or any of those platforms.”

The U-pick sunflower and zinnia fields are a popular backdrop for family photos and engagement sessions. The farm even allows professional photography, though they ask that photographers call ahead to work out the details. 

Seasonal events

Sunflower Farm Stand is open from February through October and offers a few seasonal events, including a Fourth of July cookout. In October, Sunflower Farms hosts a fall festival and pumpkin patch. 

Be sure to follow Sunflower Farm on social for more information on seasonal events. 

Visit Sunflower Farm Stand

18266 E. Kings Canyon Rd., Sanger, CA 93657

(559) 400-3211

Open February through October | Monday – Sunday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Article and photography by Hilary Rance.