Community Transition Students Tour Rader Farms

A visit to Lynden’s Rader Farms opened up the world of raspberries for a group of Lynden Community Transition students. 

“We tour a variety of worksites to show the students different career paths and opportunities for employment that they might be interested in or haven’t thought about before,” says Kristen Bock, Lynden special education teacher. 

The visit to Rader Farms came after Bock and Rebecca Morgan, director of special education, along two CT students, visited a recent local Rotary Club meeting. “Brad Rader was impressed with the students and the program,” Bock says, “and invited us for a tour of the Rader plant.”

During the tour, the students were impressed with the technology and use of robots at the facility, used to package frozen fruit. “We recognized the importance of employees operating the machinery and their teamwork in ensuring everything functions properly,” Bock says. “Employees needed to follow health and safety guidelines.” 

Bock says that while in the packing area the students were stuck by the cold needed to keep the fruit fresh, but also the friendliness of the employees and the kindness of Brad Rader while hosting the tour.