California Rare Fruit Growers, Inc.

The CRFG, founded in 1968, promotes rare fruits in the Southern California marketplace, according to a 1997 article in the Seasonal Chef online newsletter.

[1] Thomson was a self-taught botanist and fruit farmer based in San Diego's North County, while Riley was an engineer with Lockheed from Santa Clara, California.

[1] Both Thomson and Riley shared an enthusiasm for rare fruits and plants which had not been previously widely cultivated in California.

Riley and Thomson soon began collaborating to publish a newsletter on tropical and subtropical fruits[3] using a mimeograph machine.

[1][3] CRFG members and the public meets every year to celebrate the Festival of Fruit, an event organized by different chapters.