Whereas the Florida Strawberry Festival was first organized and held in 1930 by the Plant City Lions Club; Whereas, in 1948, the American Legion Post #26 helped get the Festival reactivated following a 6-year hiatus during and immediately following World War II; Whereas the Festival brings people together to celebrate Plant City’s strawberry harvest through 11 days of activities, entertainment, and strawberry-centric foods; Whereas, today, the Festival is put together by a community-oriented organization whose board of directors, staff, and volunteers devote countless hours to planning for and accommodating tens of thousands of people each day of the Festival; Whereas more than 540,000 people attended the 2022 Florida Strawberry Festival; Whereas the Strawberry Ball, hosted by the Florida Strawberry Festival, raised $50,000 for Plant City’s local food bank in 2022; Whereas more than 75 percent of United States midwinter strawberries come from Plant City, Florida; Whereas approximately 200,000 strawberry shortcakes, the Festival’s signature dessert, are served each year at the Florida Strawberry Festival; Whereas more than 10,000 acres of strawberries are planted annually in the local area, and its 2,800 farms make Hillsborough County a national leader in producing strawberries, citrus, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, squash, okra, peppers, beans, dairy products, eggs, ornamental horticulture, tropical fish, beef cattle, swine, and other related products; and Whereas the annual value of Hillsborough County’s farms total $360,000,000: Now, therefore, be it