Growing the Table’s Diverse Coalition Distributes Culturally Relevant Food to Under-Resourced Families in Fresno

As part of an effort to create a more resilient food system post-COVID, a group of Fresno organizations will have delivered nearly 35,400lbs of locally grown, culturally relevant produce to under-resourced communities between September and December

As California and the nation grapple with supply-chain challenges and food insecurity, made worse by the pandemic, a multi-ethnic coalition of Fresno organizations is delivering thousands of pounds of locally-grown, culturally relevant produce to under-resourced communities. Despite being one of the world’s agricultural centers, Fresno families do not have sufficient access to the fresh food grown in their region.  

The Asian Business Institute and Resource Center (ABIRC), Fresno Barrios Unidos, UFW Foundation, Cesar Chavez Foundation, Fresno State SERVE, Big Sandy Rancheria and Northfork Rancheria, and the Allensworth Progressive Association have been working with Growing the Table since Sept. 15 to address food security in the region and challenges on both ends of the supply chain.

“Creating more equitable and resilient food systems for both Fresno’s farmers and under-resourced communities must be at the center of building back from the pandemic better,” said Kat Taylor, Founder of Growing the Table and Founding Director of TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation. “Together, we have a real opportunity to start healing through harvest by transitioning from industrial emergency food aid to regional food value chains that address social and racial disparities.”

From September to December, the coalition will have delivered nearly 35,400 pounds of culturally relevant produce like jicama, Hmong onions, persimmons, cilantro, spaghetti squash, and bok choy to high-need families in the form of 12-15lb produce boxes, at no cost to them. This seasonal produce is grown by the Central Valley’s Southeast Asian, Black, Laotian, Punjabi, and Latino farmers.

“Collaborating with local Black, Brown and Indigenous farmers is extremely important during these challenging times,” said Blong Xiong, Executive Director of ABIRC. “Growing the Table’s support not only benefits socially disadvantaged farmers but also our community members, who have had trouble accessing quality, locally grown produce.” 

On Wednesday, the coalition came together to recognize that diverse farmers, small farmers, and communities in the Central Valley are the building blocks for a more autonomous and resilient food system. Working together beyond the pandemic will play an even greater role in contributing to family health, and nurturing community safety and stability. 

“Weaving together systems of care takes communities and collaboration,” said Ashley Rojas, Executive Director of Fresno Barrios Unidos. “Growing the Table does just that - building a local infrastructure of care from seed to soup investing in our people, our places, and equitable opportunities for concentrated community reinvestment. Food is medicine and the Valley has always been abundant enough for us all to be nourished.”

Despite residing in one of California’s rich agricultural regions, with more than 1.4 million acres of productive pasture and farmland, hunger levels remain 25% higher in Fresno in 2021 than in 2019, according to the Central California Food Bank in Fresno. 

Communities in the Central San Joaquin Valley, including the very farmworkers who skillfully plant, grow, and harvest our food, were not well-positioned to withstand the additional hardships created by the pandemic and its economic fallout, after already being subject to the systematic racism and inequality ingrained in our larger industrial food system.

“It is ironic that those who are responsible for feeding this country are facing the possibility of going without food,” Said Diana Tellefson Torres, Executive Director of UFW Foundation. “Farm workers who live and work in rural communities lack access to healthy meals, in part because of food deserts and low wages. That is why our partnership with Growing the Table is crucial, allowing us to provide thousands of farm worker families with healthy, locally grown produce. It’s the least we can do for the men and women who feed us.”

Regional native tribes - both federally recognized and not - have experienced the loss of food security since the beginning of colonization. The 1958 California Rancheria Termination Act effectively ended the trust status of lands and Indian status, further leading to deteriorating food, water, housing, and health conditions. Reviving Native wisdom and practices that have been lost for decades could help develop the resilience needed to face current health and environmental changes.

“Together with Growing the Table, we have had the privilege of serving local Indigenous tribes from the Tule River Yokut Tribe in Porterville to North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians here in North Fork California with almost 18,000 lbs of fresh, seasonal, organic/regenerative produce over the past year,” said Zachary Zukovsky Program Coordinator, Fresno State SERVE Program. “Building collaborative relationships and understanding that inclusion of Indigenous ways is critical to creating and maintaining sustainable agriculture and healthy forest management.”

The coalition also distributes produce to Allensworth in Tulare County, which was founded in 1908 by Colonel Allensworth, on the principle that American Americans can own property and create autonomous, self-sustaining communities. Through legal mechanisms created by racist institutions, Black farmers have been dispossessed of more than 90 percent of their land. In a country, in which less than two percent of farmers are African American and 97 percent of agricultural lands are owned by white Americans, the Allensworth community is working to achieve food sovereignty.

“Allensworth is a food desert where access to basic necessities requires travel of approximately 30 miles round trip to the nearest grocery store,” said Allensworth resident and long-time community advocate Kayode Kadara. “Residents of this low-income/underserved community keenly look forward to and appreciate the opportunity of receiving fresh organic produce through the Growing the Table program. Distribution times have dropped from almost two hours at the start of the program to 30-45 minutes.”

Growing the Table is a statewide philanthropic initiative that administers regional food aid programs, purchasing culturally relevant produce from small, Black, Indigenous and Brown, women-owned, and regenerative farming practitioners for isolated, under-served communities throughout California. By the end of this year, Growing the Table’s 18 regional programs will have procured nearly 850,000lbs of produce and 46,600 freshly prepared meals.