Second-generation date farmer and former restaurant chef Mark Tadros grew up in the Coachella Valley, where he now runs his family’s sustainable date palm ranch, Aziz Farms, in unincorporated Thermal. Tadros enjoys introducing others to the sweet and healthful fruit so much so that in 2019, he co-founded the Date Harvest Festival. During the pandemic, he teamed up with Tony Marchese of Trio Restaurant in Palm Springs to launch CV Harvest Box, which supports area farmers and offers locally grown produce delivered weekly. “I have had a huge focus on sourcing local,” Tadros says. “We need to give back to our communities we live in first, and source as direct as possible.