There are more than 300 farms in Collier County, Florida, perhaps best known for growing tomatoes. Yet within the county, in the unincorporated community of Immokalee, farmworkers often struggle to put fresh fruit and vegetables on their own tables. Some Immokalee farmworkers were born outside of the U.S., mostly in Guatemala, Haiti or Mexico, while others are Indigenous, working land now owned by others. Cultivate Abundance is part of a network of organizations working to address food disparities here, growing fresh produce on gardens and plots throughout the community that is distributed every Friday. The group’s aim is to boost food security and access to healthy food, but any effort to boost consumption of plants is good for the planet too.
The food system is responsible for about a third of all greenhouse gas emissions, with the lion’s share of that attributable to meat, especially beef. Eating more plants and less beef is one of the most effective forms of climate action, according to Project Drawdown, and more plants are also good for personal health. But access to healthy produce is an ongoing challenge here. The farmworker community in Immokalee is caught at the intersection of food apartheid, threat of persecution from immigration authorities and rising temperatures.
Cultivate Abundance provides bags of produce each week to around 1,000 community members, according to their website. While most of the produce comes from a partnership with a local food bank, the donations often miss the mark. On 10 acres of land spread out across Immokalee, Cultivate Abundance grows a variety of produce that is selected with intention. The group plants crops that can withstand the heat, and that are culturally appropriate for the diverse group of farmworkers they aim to nourish. The goal is to to fill the gaps left by food bank donations and the measly selection at stores in the neighborhood.
Sharing the Responsibility of Feeding a Community
Stewarding these different spaces is a group effort, Lupita Vazquez who manages the gardens and the nonprofit’s outreach tells Sentient. “The status of our location isn’t guaranteed, just like climate change now doesn’t guarantee you anything in terms of growing,” she says. “When we share the responsibility and spread it out, then there’s an infusion of hope.”…