“Across the industry, we recognize the imperative of implementing more sustainable production practices to protect wine as we know it,” Maxwell Howland, Enologist at Monterey Wine Company in California, tells Food Tank, “and we are coming together as custodians of the land to figure out a viable path forward.”

Howland says that changes in weather are already affecting the wine industry because the grapes are sensitive to the seasons and the environment. In response, vineyard practices are adapting in different ways. Growers are planting more heat and drought-resistant grape varieties and implementing cover crops in vine rows to decrease soil water loss.

Monterey is also working to reduce its environmental footprint by altering water management practices and adopting alternative packaging. “We push California wine production to zero carbon through treatment and recycling of contaminated wastewater that would otherwise flow to fresh waterways and offer it back to the city for municipal use,” Howland tells Food Tank.

The International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA) helps producers with the implement practices to measure and decrease greenhouse gas emissions. To speed up the shift towards a climate-friendly wine industry, IWCA raises awareness about cutting greenhouse gasses in viticulture and hosts workshops to share emission reduction strategies.

“Our main goal is to share best practices that mitigate the impacts climate change has in vineyard and winery operations so that we can act collectively to decarbonize the global wine industry,” Miguel Torres, President of IWCA, tells Food Tank.

Charlotte Hey, Executive Director of IWCA tells Food Tank that the coalition includes 45 wine companies across 11 countries, representing 139 wineries. “Each of these companies has set the ambitious goal of reaching net zero by 2050, and they are concretely leading the charge towards this goal,” Hey says. “IWCA’s members are regularly measuring their GHG emissions, mobilizing their teams to instill a culture of sustainability across their business units, investing in renewable energy, installing new equipment and infrastructure, shifting their agricultural and business practices to reduce their carbon footprint, and much more. This is crucial in mitigating the effects of climate on viti- and viniculture.”

Bonterra Organic Estates, for example, is focusing on regenerative practices to heal the earth while adapting to a changing climate. “We have been long time organic farmers on the vineyards, and became regenerative organic certified with our 2020 harvest,” Jess Baum, Senior Director of Regenerative Impact at Bonterra Organic Estates tells Food Tank, “and we really believe in the power of regenerative agriculture to sequester harmful atmospheric carbon and transform it into helpful slow organic carbon, increasing the fertility of our soil as well as mitigating climate change.”

“IWCA’s members are regularly measuring their GHG emissions, mobilizing their teams to instill a culture of sustainability across their business units, investing in renewable energy, installing new equipment and infrastructure, shifting their agricultural and business practices to reduce their carbon footprint, and much more. This is crucial in mitigating the effects of climate on viti- and viniculture,” Hey continues.

Monterey Wine Co. uses similar zero carbon efforts. “We push California wine production to zero carbon through treatment and recycling of contaminated wastewater that would otherwise flow to fresh waterways and offer it back to the city for municipal use. Most importantly, we are also a U.S. partner of Frugalpak, an alternative recycled paper packaging option which aims to reduce the massive carbon footprint associated with the production and transportation of glass bottles,” Howland tells Food Tank.

And some wineries are moving beyond solely adapting to or mitigating climate change; instead, they’re emphasizing regenerative practices.

“We have been long time organic farmers on the vineyards, and became regenerative organic certified with our 2020 harvest,” Jess Baum, Senior Director of Regenerative Impact at Bonterra Organic Estates tells Food Tank, “and we really believe in the power of regenerative agriculture to sequester harmful atmospheric carbon and transform it into helpful slow organic carbon, increasing the fertility of our soil as well as mitigating climate change.”

At Bonterra Organic Estates, regenerative organic agriculture can be seen in practice diverse cover cropping, bringing sheep on the vineyard to mow for part of the year, applying compost, planting for biodiversity, and using integrated pest management, according to Baum.

Last year, Baum says that their practices helped to ensure they didn’t lose a single vine, even during periods of difficult weather.

“The future of wine is sustainability,” Baum tells Food Tank.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Maksym Kaharlytskyi, Unsplash

The post Advancing Sustainability: The Wine Industry’s Leadership in Climate Consciousness appeared first on Food Tank.

Fish Month comes after the WTO approved the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies at the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12). The Agreement regulates subsidies for illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, subsidies for overfished stocks, or those with an unknown population and subsidies for fishing outside of national jurisdiction. The Agreement also requires member states to notify the WTO on the status of fisheries subsidies.

According to the WTO, the initial Agreement set at MC12 marks the first time the WTO has fully met a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target. SDG 14.6 is a target of SDG 14, Life Below Water, that relates specifically to regulating fisheries subsidies that contribute to overcapacity, overfishing and IUU fishing and minimizing the creation of new subsidies of these kinds. The Agreement is also the first WTO agreement focused on the environment and the first binding, multilateral WTO agreement on ocean sustainability.

In this latest round of discussions, the WTO Committee on Fisheries Subsidies negotiated the outstanding issue of subsidies that cause overfishing and overcapacity. As Fish Month drew to a close, 60 member governments had formally accepted the Agreement, representing 55 percent of the total that is needed for it to come into effect. 

The Committee will now present a text at the upcoming MC13 at the end of February 2024. During the Conference, the text will be reviewed and voted on by WTO ministers.

The WTO defines overcapacity as fishing at levels that exceed sustainable catch levels of a fishery, a practice which they argue leads to overfishing or IUU fishing.

Ernesto Fernández Monge, senior officer of Conservation Support for Pew Charitable Trusts and subsidies expert, tells Food Tank that the current negotiations focus on issues that members did not reach a consensus on by the time of the initial agreement.

“While the agreement reached at MC12 aims to prevent the most damaging impacts of fisheries subsidies, the ongoing talks can be seen as an opportunity to better address the underlying role of subsidies in driving overcapacity in global fishing fleets and incentivizing unsustainable levels of fishing,” Fernández Monge tells Food Tank. “As such, they are an opportunity to tackle more directly, and more broadly, one of the root causes of overfishing.”

According to the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development, fisheries subsidies are estimated to be about US$35 billion worldwide, with US$20 billion contributing directly to overfishing.

In December 2023, WTO Ambassador Einar Gunnarsson, Chair of the WTO fisheries subsidies negotiations, released a draft of the new agreement. Current negotiations are based on this text which prohibits subsidies that contribute to overcapacity or overfishing. It also requires member countries to consider the consequences of subsidies on overcapacity and overfishing before granting them and introduces exceptions for Least Developed Countries, and for countries that are actively keeping fisheries stocks at sustainable levels.

“Let us use this opportunity to take this very important, concrete step toward improving the health of our ocean, and thus the lives and livelihoods of people everywhere,” Gunnarsson says of the fish month negotiations.

Fernández Monge tells Food Tank that current negotiations focus on identifying how to regulate countries with the largest fishing industries compared to least developed and developing countries.

“Developing countries, particularly the small ones, are the ones that will benefit the most from the agreement,” Fernández Monge tells Food Tank. He explains that many countries with major fishing industries use subsidies to operate in the waters of other countries. This means that large countries are competing with small countries and local fishing communities for the same stocks, leading to depletion.

Following MC13, if members reach an agreement, this will either be added to the MC12 agreement as an amendment or as a new agreement that will need to be accepted by member countries.

Despite being adopted by consensus at MC12, the previous agreement has not gone into effect. This is because not enough WTO member states have formally accepted the agreement individually. There is a push to ratify the agreement by MC13.

“In addition to delivering the second wave of negotiations, we hope that the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies will enter into force by MC13 as well,” says WTO Deputy Director-General Angela Ellard. “We know that many members are working hard to deposit their instruments before MC13.”

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Jean Wimmerlin, Unsplash

The post Bridging Seas to Sustainability: WTO’s ‘Fish Month’ Pushes Against Fishing Subsidies appeared first on Food Tank.

This can be a tough time of year—but it’s one I always look forward to. Yes, it’s chilly where I live. I can’t look out the window and see a vibrant garden.

But it’s also a time of optimism, where we look to the year ahead and think about what we want to do, who we want to be, and what we want to achieve. In short, it’s a time of year where we’re sustained by the hope of a better future!

That’s why I always look forward to January, because we head to Utah during the Sundance Film Festival to showcase powerful storytelling, through film, of the people who are making meaningful food system progress.

Sharing stories has been core to Food Tank’s mission since the beginning. And I’ve always appreciated film as one of the most accessible—and visually striking—ways to connect people on the ground of food system change with viewers and advocates at home.

It’s one thing to tell someone about the unexpected partnerships and bold, resilient strategies that people around the globe are using to protect the planet. But it’s infinitely more powerful to show them Wild Hope, a new series of short films that takes viewers directly to the sites of local action, from New York City to Mozambique.

By discussing the hunger crisis on college campuses, we can raise awareness. But by gathering together to watch Abundance, we can be inspired by a real-world example of college students dropping everything to feed local families—and we can learn how we can emulate that direct action in our own communities.

I can talk all day about the power of regenerative agriculture. And trust me, I often do! But in the film Common Ground, celebrities including Laura Dern, Rosario Dawson, Jason Mamoa, Woody Harrelson, Ian Somerhalder, and Donald Glover all use their platforms to elevate the importance of soil health and the forward-thinking farmers fighting to preserve it.

And all of these films—plus the documentary project Susan Feniger. FORKED, which follows a chef as she strives to open her first solo restaurant, and Feeding Tomorrow, by celebrity chefs and filmmakers Simon English and Oliver English—will be screened at our Food Systems and the Environment Summit, which we’re presenting during Sundance alongside 360 Communications.

“You have to find a way to balance information and stories that move people,” says Melissa Robledo, one of the filmmakers of “Food Inc., 2.” “It’s a constant back-and-forth.”

Here are some other films you should add to your ‘to watch’ list:

Organic Rising, the first feature-length film that aims to demystify how organic agriculture actually works.

The Smell of Money, a film that follows the fight for justice among those living near factory hog farms in eastern North Carolina.

Food Inc., 2, the sequel to the award-winning 2008 documentary, which takes a fresh look at how our food system has become more corporatized and vulnerable in recent years.

 The Grab, a work of film-length investigative reporting that uncovers the forces trying to seize control of vital resources like land and water.

Holy Shit Film, an examination of the very real problems—and possibilities—that come with treating wastewater, feces, and the contents of our sewers

Making Waves, a short film from Driscoll’s about how farmers in California are adapting to the climate crisis and recharging aquifers.

Farming While Black, a film about young Black farmers based on the important book of the same name, by farmer and activist Leah Penniman.

What I love about these film projects is that they’re more than movies—they can turn into movements. The Common Ground film, for example, has launched a campaign to regenerate 100 million acres of land in the United States, and “Abundance” offers fellowships and fundraising campaign support for future changemakers.

“People take action when they see there can be results and impact,” says Geoff Luck, Executive Producer and Director of Impact for the Wild Hope Initiative. “We know the way to change behavior most effectively is through narrative storytelling.”

“So let’s tell some stories about the kinds of ways we can make change, and get them out to a broad and wide audience,” he told me at SXSW last year.

Our film screening programming during Sundance in Utah, taking place Saturday, January 20th, is sold out. Although, as always, Food Tank members get in free, even to sold-out events. Here’s the link, and email Kenzie@FoodTank.com for a member code.

But that’s another amazing reason to celebrate film: You can be part of the conversation wherever in the world you are!

Once you have had a chance to view these films, let’s talk about them! Share your thoughts on social media using #FoodTank, and email me at danielle@foodtank.com. I look forward to being able to share stories with one another!

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of San Knight, Unsplash

The post Using Storytelling in Film to Showcase Food Heroes appeared first on Food Tank.

“Challenges of climate adaptation are rife in the market,” Uwera says. 

Fairtrade International works with farmers to help them adopt sustainable production practices while guaranteeing a fair income for their labor. Uwera explains that Fairtrade carries out this work through regional producer networks, set up to support member producers. The networks offer capacity building, knowledge and technology sharing, and more to help farmers increase their resilience. 

When farmers adopt new techniques, including intercropping—the practice of growing different climate-friendly plants such as yams or cassava among their crops—they can not only improve the sustainability of their production methods. They also have the opportunity to diversify their incomes.

Fairtrade also established the Women’s School of Leadership, a project in West Africa that promotes sustainability by increasing gender equity. The program teaches women to negotiate, bargain, and engage with commercial partners. “We are getting women out of a mindset of just being household drivers, to become women who are able to address challenges within their communities and be more included…to become women in trade,” Uwera says.

Still, women in agriculture continue to struggle to access finance, which Uwera says is “one of the key challenges” for them. “It means we have to sensitize the commercial banks, the financial sector to take this into consideration. So we advocate for a rights based approach for access to finance for women.”

“When you empower a woman, you empower an entire community.”

Watch the full conversation below.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here. 

The post How Fair Trade Empowers Farmers and Promotes Sustainability appeared first on Food Tank.

As much as 40 percent of the food produced in the world goes uneaten, contributing to approximately 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to estimates from WWF. 

“There has been a significant uptick in government action on food loss and waste since 2014,” says Lisa Moon, President and CEO, Global FoodBanking Network. Among other achievements, nine countries have passed major legislation on food loss and waste frameworks that they didn’t have before, she says. And eight have prioritized liability protections to encourage the donation of surplus food. 

But progress is still needed. The number of countries that have addressed food loss and waste through their nationally determined contributions (NDCs)—non-binding national plans to address the climate crisis—still sits in the teens, Craig Hanson, Managing Director and Executive Vice President for Programs at the World Resources Institute, says. 

These plans, as well as food loss and waste reduction targets, are important, Hanson continues because “targets set ambition, ambition motivates action.”

Amanda McKee, Director of Knowledge and Learning at NDC Partnership argues that it is necessary to help countries understand “what the opportunities are” and show that support is available. This means “ensuring the right people are around the table from the beginning.”

Financial and philanthropic organizations can leverage their resources and provide the funding that is needed to drive progress, the panelists note. But nonprofit organizations working on the ground in communities are also key.

“Countries must recognize the importance of food banks in feeding people, in building healthy, resilient, sustainable food systems,” says Shenggen Fan, Chair Professor in the College of Economics and Management at China Agricultural University. 

These nonprofit organizations can successfully divert excess food to those most in need. “The best way to prevent food waste once surpluses have occurred is through food donation,” says Mariana Jiménez, CEO of BAMX, a network of food banks in Mexico. She argues that these organizations also need funding and support to increase their capacity. 

Focusing attention and channeling funds toward this this issue is essential, says Fabrice  

Investment in and attention on this space is essential, says Fabrice Salamanca, Vice President of Global Public Affairs at Danone, because without progress on food loss and waste, food systems transformation is “impossible.”

Watch the full conversation from COP28 HERE.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here. 

The post From Policies to Action: Charting Progress in the Fight Against Global Food Loss and Waste appeared first on Food Tank.

Tillman’s book begins with García growing up in rural Guanajuato Mexico. He leaves for the United States at 10 years old alongside his mother and brother to join his father as a migrant farm worker between Florida and Michigan. As a teenager, Garcia finds his way into the restaurant industry in Georgia, climbing the ranks from dishwasher to the kitchen line.

Tillman then relays Garcia’s journey as he experiences imprisonment and deportation. Unable to return to the U.S., Garcia returns to Mexico, where he finds a fusion of European culinary techniques combined with Indigenous flavors. Garcia opened his first restaurant, Máximo Bistrot in Mexico City, with the intention of highlighting the importance of local food and the power of food to bring people together.

Tillman and García first met in 2016—a time when anti-immigration sentiments were on the rise in the U.S.—when Tillman shared a meal with friends at Máximo Bistrot. García, wishing to offer hope and support to others facing deportation, was ready to share his story. And Tillman was looking to further understand the back of house in fine dining in Mexico City.

At our first meeting, “[Garcia] told me of his incredible journey from migrant farm worker to deportee to famed chef. It was obvious from that meeting that not only had a fascinating story to tell, but that he was an especially insightful subject,” Tillman tells Food Tank.

Tillman spent five years alongside García, learning about his story, spending time with his family, and observing the inner workings of his restaurant. Tillman pulls from these interactions to shape her narrative, while weaving in historical context to help readers understand the role migrant workers play in the American food system.

“We need to create a more equitable system which requires consumers to demand change,” Tillman tells Food Tank that she wants readers to understand. This is important, she continues, because “many workers in this industry are either undocumented, or are on work visas which, by their nature, discourage workers from speaking out.”

Tillman says “I started to see the preciousness with which we treat the food that goes into our bodies in a different light: why can’t we show the same concern, or even a shadow of that concern, to the people who harvest and prepare our food?”

In the book, García says he is a “simple cook who feeds people who are hungry.”

Tillman hopes readers take away that there is a need to reconsider the prices one is prepared to pay for products to create a more equitable world. “I hope that Lalo’s story makes those inequalities, and the imperative to do better, more immediate to readers.”

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Mallika Vora

The post ‘The Migrant Chef’ Shows Us The Need to Create an Equitable System appeared first on Food Tank.

The post Opportunities to Dive into the World of Sustainable Food Systems appeared first on Food Tank.

Grasslands cover nearly 70 percent of global agricultural area, according to a paper published in Agronomy. These ecosystems can support both wild species and grazing herds. Below the surface, these crucial ecosystems sequester carbon, drawing it out of the atmosphere where it contributes to the greenhouse gas effect. But The Nature Conservancy reports that these ecosystems are the least protected.

Grazing lands face threats from “urban sprawl, agricultural conversion and energy development,” according to The Nature Conservancy. The FAO assessment adds that grassland soils have “suffered” from human activities such as intensive livestock grazing and agriculture.

Grasslands currently hold about 20 percent of global soil organic carbon stocks, according to the assessment. Acknowledging the power of grasslands, the assessment covers both the current state of grasslands and estimates their potential to sequester carbon in the soil.

Among its key findings, the assessment reveals a negative carbon balance in East Asia, Central and South America, and sub-Saharan Africa. In soils, a negative carbon balance means organic matter outputs–losses from tilling, plant usage, and water leaching–are higher than organic matter inputs. This leads to unproductive, nutrient-depleted soils with low organic matter content.

The FAO assessment supports findings in a 2020 paper from Dr. Bezaye Tessema, Researcher and Postdoctoral Associate with Rice University, who studies grasslands in East Africa. The study summarizes carbon sequestration potential of grasslands in six East African countries, and uncovers “a lack of published studies on the soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration potential of grasslands in East Africa.”

Tessema says that although the region is still “underrepresented” in published research, the assessment brings attention to the subject. “Having this information from the FAO, especially on the negative carbon balance, is really a huge opportunity,” she tells Food Tank.

Tessema is currently investigating the potential of carbon markets in Africa and sees the assessment as a “timely resource” for furthering investment in the sector and the region. This is noteworthy given the FAO’s finding that “Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia show the highest potential for carbon storage on a per hectare basis.”

The assessment says that governments should work with the livestock industry to incentivize rotational, planned, or adaptive grazing methods. Laura Paine, Senior Outreach Specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Grassland 2.0, stresses the role of livestock in sustainable grassland management.

“The fifth soil health principle, and in my mind the most important one, is ‘integrate livestock.’ Farmers who have no livestock in their system have a limited number of tools…With the addition of livestock, there is the potential for perennial pastures, perennial hay, annual forages, and grazing crop residues, reducing tillage and increasing the return of carbon to the soil,” Paine tells Food Tank.

Both Paine and Tessema agree that the inaugural FAO assessment provides a comprehensive overview of grasslands. In terms of the assessment’s impact on U.S. policy, Paine doubts the assessment’s ability to confront the barriers to a sustainable livestock industry.

“Many acres of native or unimproved grasslands in the American West are overgrazed and/or managed poorly, leading to soil carbon loss. The livestock economy doesn’t reward improved management that could lead to increased carbon storage,” Paine tells Food Tank.

By identifying hotspots where interventions need to be implemented, the FAO’s assessment could spur action, Tessema says. She hopes the assessment will encourage investment in specific, local data and, down the line, improve food security by improving soil productivity.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Melissa Brown, Unsplash

The post FAO Releases Assessment of Soil Carbon in Grasslands appeared first on Food Tank.

“We really liked Niman Ranch’s concept of how they wanted to raise the hogs,” says Alaina. “The very humane nature of how they raise their hogs with access to the outdoors, really reminded me of how I raised my 4-H animals [when I was a child]. The quality of meat, you can taste it…you can tell when an animal has been raised on bedding and dirt versus concrete.”

Niman Ranch offers a guaranteed market for its farmers’ and ranchers’ products in exchange for a high standard of practices. Steven says that this gave the Imhoffs the opportunity to invest in quality equipment that make other aspects of day-to-day farm life easier. The Imhoffs were also able to begin raising hogs for Niman Ranch using their current farmland and facilities, rather than investing in expensive conventional housing.

“You can [raise hogs] on a smaller scale, and you don’t have to have a million-dollar-plus investment to get started,” Steven says. “You’re able to work with smaller facilities, smaller numbers, be more hands-on, and have an investment of your own, versus working for somebody else.”

Right now, Steven and Alaina both work off-farm jobs. They say that Niman Ranch is providing an additional path to grow their business—and, hopefully, work full-time on the farm one day.

“For a lot of people in the second generation—or however many generations—down, you’re probably going to have to have another job for a while before transitioning to the farm full-time, unless [your family has] a really large farm operation,” says Alaina.

While her family has been farming for at least four generations, there isn’t enough land for all of Alaina’s siblings to return to the family farm. And these days, few new farmers can afford to buy land, according to Alaina: In the Imhoffs’ area of Iowa, farmland can sell for as high as US$25,000 per acre.

Alaina emphasizes that more support is needed for young and beginning farmers, particularly to get started raising hogs. As a middle and high school agriculture teacher, she finds joy in educating the next generation about how to raise animals sustainably and humanely—and different ways to build a profitable small business, such as through Niman Ranch.

“Farmers get a bad reputation, they don’t ever seem to get the good promoted about them,” says Alaina. “There are so many amazing farmers out there raising the best product they can, no matter what method they’re utilizing, to feed this growing world.”

Young folks’ passion for agriculture and work advocating for it brings Alaina hope. She and her students speak with policymakers every year about the importance of agricultural education, aiming to show state legislators that young people are interested in working in agriculture and need support.

At home, Steven and Alaina are working to pass an environmentally and economically sustainable business to the next generation. Both of their children are raising their own animals and love helping out on the farm.

“Educating the kids, to me, is the actually most rewarding part of being a farmer,” says Alaina.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Lauren McConachie, Unsplash

The post A New Hog Farming Model for the Next Generation appeared first on Food Tank.

ALAS, a Latino centered nonprofit in Half Moon Bay, California, began in 2011. The organization seeks to help children and families feel proud of their culture and identity, and has become a communal space for support. Volunteers, families, board, and staff are creating programs including culturally-centered mental health services, wrap-around case management, immigration, education, and social justice advocacy initiatives.

2023 has brought record levels of precipitation in California that have triggered destructive floods across communities and agricultural landscapes. When the first wave of floods hit the state earlier in the year, ALAS was among the first organizations to respond.

“The sooner we can mobilize and organize and be there to help, the better the families are to endure this,” Belinda Hernandez-Arriaga, Executive Director for ALAS tells Food Tank. “Sometimes we can’t wait for the bureaucracy of other organizations to organize, we must be ready. ALAS is ready. We know how to mobilize with the community and get the word out.”

ALAS has found that one of the biggest impacts of the flooding is the barriers the destruction imposes on accessing food. The organization’s crisis food pantry, which was launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, is serving its highest numbers of people ever, according to Hernandez-Arriaga.

While the food pantries relieve a financial burden on families, Hernandez-Arriaga discusses how money isn’t the only barrier.

“One of the things we have to prepare as organizations is how we are mobilizing to support farm worker communities who might be in more remote areas,” says Hernandez-Arriaga.

She shares how the flooding has caused extensive damage to roads, preventing farm workers from being able to drive away from their homes or work areas. In response, ALAS has developed programs to meet farm workers where they are.

ALAS brings gallons of water to Coastside farms once a week and collaborates with several organizations, such as Coastside Hope and Second Harvest Food Bank, to regularly distribute groceries. ALAS also coordinates Farmworker Friday, an initiative which brings lunch to farmworkers on rotating Fridays. Each lunch is sponsored by different organizations seeking to support their local farm workers.

At the end of 2022, ALAS launched the Farmworker Equity Express Bus, a mobile center that brings resources to farm workers on the Coast.

“We really need to go where farmworkers are,” says Hernandez-Arriaga. “We have seen the isolation and the limitation they have because of their work hours and the type of work they are doing.”

The Bus is equipped with Wifi laptops, teleteaching resources, telehealth, mental health commissions, and education and arts resources.

The organization emphasizes how the effects of flooding are ongoing, economically impacting farm worker families long after the water dissipates. As ALAS continues to provide crisis relief to farm workers from the flooding earlier this year, they are simultaneously preparing these communities for the floods to come.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo Courtesy of Tim Mossholder

The post Ayudando Latinos A Soñar: Creating Support and Resilience Amidst Devastating Floods in California appeared first on Food Tank.