Area FFA chapters from the Tri Rivers FFA Section elected to spend part of their Veteran's Day holiday by engaging in a "Day of Service" activity, sorting through 3,067 cans of food at the Diamond Bar Arena in rural Ceres.

Approximately 100 members belonging to seven FFA chapters in southern Stanislaus County - including Ceres, Central Valley, Turlock, Turlock Christian Pittman high schools - staged individual canned food drives. They brought them all to a barn at Diamond Bar Arena to sort them out.

"We organized them, separated them by expiration and organized them by type of food," said Section adviser and Central Valley High School ag teacher Clarissa Rowley.

United Samaritan picked up the goods.

"All the chapters from the entire Central Valley are doing something this day," said Rowley on Wednesday.

Members also toured an area of the farm that contains worm and compost bins installed by arena owner Shane Parson.

The event, attended by 10 CHS students and 15 from Central Valley High, ended with a barbecue luncheon courtesy of Parson.

Central Valley High staged their canned food drive Nov. 2-6.