This story was originally published byGrist.
It also makes her think of Guatemala, where she grew up surrounded by plants.
It reminds me of working the earth there, Morales said in Spanish.
Credit: F Armstrong Photography via Shutterstock
Tending to the peaceful community garden is a far cry from the harvesting Morales does for her livelihood.
On a good day, she earned about two-thirds of thestates minimum hourly wage of $12.
With scant water available, the risk of dehydration or heat stroke was never far from her mind.
But these are the sorts of things she must endure to ensure her family is fed.
I dont really have many options, she said.
They have struggled to cover the rent, let alone the familysballooning grocery bill.
Its hard, she said.
Its really, really hot … the heat is increasing, but the salaries arent.
TheCampesinos Gardenhelps fill in the gap between her wages and the cost of food.
The2.4 million or so farmworkerswho are the backbone of Americas agricultural industry earn among thelowest wages in the country.
But farmworkers are particularly vulnerable because they are largely invisible in the American political system.
Xiuhtecutli works with the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition to protect farmworkers from the occupationalrisks and exploitationthey face.
There isnt a lot of aid available, either.
Even those who are entitled to such help may be reluctant to seek it.
Its not at the top of that list.
Butclimate changeandinflationhave made food insecurity agrowing, year-round problem.
In September, torrential rain caused heavy floodingacross western Massachusetts.
The inundation decimated farmland already ravaged by a series of storms.
People do not have access to basic food.
I know what its like, how much my people suffer, said Rosales.
They arent always paid, however.
Families are definitely having to grapple with What am I going to pay for?
Butone national surveyof nearly 3,700 farmworkers found just 12.2 percent used SNAP.
Justsix statesprovide nutrition assistance to populations, like undocumented farmworkers, ineligible for the federal program.
Thats because such data is almost nonexistent even though the Agriculture Department tracks annualnational statistics on the issue.
But she didnt clarify what specifically is being done.
We know that food insecurity is a problem, said Ramirez, who is a former farmworker herself.
I wouldnt be able to point to statistics directly, because I dont have [that] data.
She suspects the same impediments may hinder post-disaster hunger relief efforts nationwide.
It is easier to pretend that these populations dont exist, she said.
These inequities need to be addressed at the federal level.
Farmworkers are human beings, and our society is treating them like theyre not.
The nonprofit launched the pantry in the winter of 2017.
When the pandemic struck, it rapidly evolved from a makeshift food bank into a larger operation.
Rosales wants to see the food bank give way to a more entrepreneurial model that offers farmworkers greater autonomy.
Ramirez herself hails from a farmworker family.
Both of my parents started working in the fields as children, she said.
My dad was eight, my mom was five.
The challenges the Ramirez family faced then persist for others today.
In fact, legislators may be on the verge of making things worse.
But the greatest benefit could come from a third proposal Padilla reintroduced, theFairness for Farm Workers Act.
It would reform the1938 lawthat governs the minimum wage and overtime policies for farmworkers whileexempting them from labor protections.
As food prices increase, low-income workers are facing greater rates of food insecurity, Padilla told Grist.
But roughly half of our nations farmworkers are undocumented and unable to access these benefits.
More can be done to address rising food insecurity rates for farmworkers.
Still, none of these bills squarely addresses farmworker hunger.
I just dont think theres been a fine point on this issue with food and farmworkers, she said.
To me its kind of ironic.
You would think that would be a starting point.
For 68-year-old Jesus Morales, the Campesinos Garden in Apopka is a second home.
He particularly likes growing and harvesting moringa, which is used in Mexico to treat a range of ailments.
Regular visitors know him as the plant doctor.
This is the gift of God, Morales said in Spanish.
This is a meadow of hospitals, a meadow of medicines.
The half-acre garden teems with a staggering assortment of produce.
Tomatoes, lemons, jalapenos.
Nearby trees offer dragonfruit and limes, and theres even a smattering of papaya plants.
The air is thick with the smell of freshly dug soil and hints of herbs like mint and rosemary.
Two compost piles sit side by side, and a greenhouse bursts with still more produce.
These are families with six kids, and they work poverty wages.
Throughout the week, the nonprofit distributes what Ruiz harvests.
But some of the same factors driving farmworkers to hunger have begun to encroach on the garden.
A lot of plants are dying because its so hot, and were not getting rains, said Ruiz.
Demand is rising, and with it, pressure to deliver.
You do the right thing because its the right thing to do, he said.
Its always the right thing to feed somebody.
This article originally appeared inGristathttps://grist.org/food-and-agriculture/farmworker-hunger-crisis-climate-inflation-grocery-costs/.
Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.
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