“Everyday Climate Champions” Podcast Episode 10: Climate, Food, & Justice: Farm to School Cafeteria in Watsonville, CA
Written by Keith Nickolaus
Learn more about Climate Reality Bay Area’s podcast, Everyday Climate Champions here.
“A lot of people think that climate change and food justice, they're problems that are out of our league. But change can be made anywhere and you just have to start.” - Karla Leyva
Listen to Episode 10: here
Transcript: here
Guests: Alma Leonor-Sanchez, Jesus Basulto, and Karla Leyva, from the Farm 2 Cafeteria Program, Watsonville, CA
Teen Co-Hosts: Hasini Parapelli and Isabella Genereaux
Summary:
In this episode, we talk to three inspiring young people involved in the Farm 2 School Cafeteria program in Watsonville, CA: a partnership between Esperanza Community Farms and Pajaro Valley High School. We learn about how they work on both climate justice and local food systems issues in their rural community. You’ll also find out how YOU can get started addressing these issues in your own area — maybe even at your local school.
Why This Matters:
Although Pajaro Valley High School is in the rural farming town of Watsonville, too many students at the school lacked a healthy connection to the land and to healthy diets. The Farm 2 Cafeteria program exposes local youth to farming and healthy eating. Program staff, volunteers, and participating students from the school serve up school lunches packed with fresh fruits and vegetables.
By taking advantage of the proximity of Pajaro High School and nearby Esperanza Community Farms, the Farm 2 School Cafeteria program offers a model for improving the quality and nutritional value of school lunches in rural settings, while teaching about regenerative farming, including the downsides of industrial farming, synthetic pesticides, and monocropping.
Practical programs like this one are a great example of how climate activists can connect with young people in school settings and promote principles of climate justice and environmental sustainability at the local level.
Key Takeaways
Although surrounded by farmland, many students at Pajaro HS had little connection with the land, little appreciation for the health benefits of eating fresh produce, and lacked an understanding of the downsides of industrial agriculture. The Farm 2 School Cafeteria program helps students get fresh lunches and a fresh perspective on food systems and alternative and sustainable farm practices.
The Farm 2 School Cafeteria Program is student-led and partners with Esperanza Community Farms and the 9 Organic Farms cooperative to provide Pajaro Valley High School with fresh salads made from fresh, locally sourced, organic fruits and vegetables.
Community Supported Agriculture networks (CSAs), such as the 9 Organic Farms cooperative in the Salinas Valley, offer a model for how community members and local organic farmers can band together to promote environmentally sustainable farming practices and business models.
Alma’s experiences working at Esperanza Community Farm in Watsonville helped her see farming and food systems through a social justice and social equity lens and appreciate the need to teach others about the connections between farming, climate change, and climate justice.
Local farm-to-table market systems are environmentally friendly and reduce carbon footprints by eliminating monocropping and reducing the need to transport lots of produce over long distances.
Public education is a key mission for Esperanza Farms and the Farm 2 School Cafeteria Program. Program leaders and student interns do outreach presentations and help parents and other community members understand what climate-conscious agriculture looks like.
Regenerative agriculture practices offer an alternative to industrial farming practices and support healthier food, more sustainable food systems, and biodiversity..
Although immigrant farm workers are often held in low esteem as unskilled manual laborers, students in the Farm 2 School Cafeteria program learned to appreciate the demanding work these laborers do and the sacrifices they make. The students also discovered the workers bring a deep and under-appreciated connection with the land and knowledge of climate and ecosystems that can help inform sustainable and organic farming practices.
Regenerative Agriculture incorporates a range of farming practices that promote and benefit from biodiversity. These include:
polyculture farming (growing a variety of crops on the same farm, as opposed to monoculture farming)
cover-cropping (nourishing soil with nitrogen-rich plant matter during fallow cycles)
inter-cropping (allowing for various types of plants to grow in close proximity to create healthier, biodiverse ecosystems within farm plots)
Guest Alma Leonor-Sanchez reflected on how her experiences on the local farms impacted her perceptions of time, helped her slow down, cultivate patience, and be more in tune with nature and nature’s clock instead of human time.
Regenerative farming practices influence our perceptions of nature and help us see deeper connections between the land we live on, the food we eat, and social justice, climate change, and climate justice.
How to Take Action
Getting involved in local food systems is a way to get involved close to home as an "everyday climate champion".
Consider starting your own farm-to-cafeteria program at your local school (see below for resources)
Involve young people in starting your own regenerative agriculture garden — at home or in your community
Related Websites:
Farm 2 Cafeteria: https://esperanzacommunityfarms.org/farm-2-cafeteria-f2c/ Learn more about the program featured in this episode!
Center for Ecoliteracy: https://ecoliteracy.org/: This organization is your go-to resource to get a farm-to-cafeteria program started at your local school.
More info on regenerative agriculture: https://www.noble.org/regenerative-agriculture/organic-vs-regenerative-agriculture/ Learn more about how regenerative agriculture empowers farmers and ranchers to use management principles that improve the overall health of the land.
California’s Farm to School Program: https://www.gov.ca.gov/cafarm2school/: This statewide program connects local producers and school food buyers; increases food education in classrooms, gardens, and on farms; and engages schools and students with the agricultural community.
Nine Organic Farmers Co-op: https://www.9organicfarmscoop.com/: The farm co-op mentioned in this episode.
Contact Us: Do you know a Bay Area-based Everyday Climate Champion? We’d love to interview them! Or just want to share a comment or hear about new episodes?
Get in touch: crba.eccpodcast@gmail.com
Get notified of new episodes HERE
Podcast Production Team: Executive Producer: Dalya Massachi; Sound Designers: Kayla Anchell, Trevor Skerbe; Co-Hosts/Researchers: George Dy, Ellisa Feinstein, Isabella Genereaux, Sean Mendelson, Hasini Parepalli, Lex Schrader, Alex Williams; Logo Designer: Gabriela Vargas