High School Cadets Support Farmers Market
May 20, 2026 10:10AM ● By Stephen B. Clazie
Rose Gonzalez’s favorite vendor at Elk 6’s GreenHaven Pocket Farmers Market is Papa & Mama’s Farm. In the photo, Mama Kha is handing Rose a bouquet of flowers for her aunt on Mother’s Day. Photo by Stephen B. Clazie
SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - Not too many high school seniors are willing to get up early on a Sunday morning and begin volunteering at 6:30 a.m. for five and a half hours.
Every Sunday, about 12 cadets from John F. Kennedy High School Criminal Justice Academy do exactly that. They are at the Elk 6 parking lot, only a couple of blocks north of Kennedy High at the end of Florin Road. They are there to help, especially the vegetable vendors, set up the GreenHaven Pocket Farmers Market (GHP).
One of those cadets is Rose Gonzalez, who is graduating this June. She has only been in the program for three years because, as a freshman, she attended a tech high school. She did not enjoy that program, but she has loved her experience at Kennedy’s Criminal Justice Academy. She used that experience on her résumé to land a summer job as a camp aide at Camp Sacramento.
South Lake Tahoe has long been a cherished place for Rose, as well as for generations of Sacramento Valley residents. Camp Sacramento has served as a family camp and conference center for the Sacramento Valley and beyond since 1920. Rose is looking forward to working there for two months this summer.
In the fall, she will major in administration of justice at both Sacramento City College and American River College. After receiving her associate degree, she plans to transfer to California State University, Sacramento, to earn her bachelor’s degree.
After Sacramento State, she hopes to attend the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office Basic Academy, a P.O.S.T.-certified basic academy.
The program is approximately 24 weeks long and consists of 956 hours of training. Upon successful completion, recruits receive a Certificate of Completion for a Peace Officer Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.) Basic Course, which can be used to apply for employment with most law enforcement agencies throughout California.
Vic Cima, general manager of the GreenHaven Pocket Farmers Market, says the JFK cadets, like Rose, have been a great addition this year.
“They really help the vendors and the customers,” he said.
