Communities step up to help families affected by immigration raids
In its simplest form, food insecurity means not knowing from when or from where your next meal will arrive. The percentage of food-insecure households in this nation has increased over the past several years, from 10.2% in 2021 to 13.5% (18 million households) in 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Ventura County is not immune: 77,000 people (about 1 in 10) are affected. Many of them are the same people who harvest the food we purchase. Due to a rising fear of deportations—especially among agricultural workers and their families—people are choosing to hide at home rather than buy groceries or receive food aid.
“If they see a big food donation site, they stay away from those, anything that looks like it might be run by the government,” says Beatriz Basuto of 805undocfund. “These families have been left traumatized by ICE.”
Food assistance programs like Friends of Fieldworkers, Food Share and Food Forward have changed how they operate, in some cases. These local nonprofits now offer smaller, unpublicized distribution sites or bring food to people’s doors.
“Our phones have been ringing left and right,” says Dr. Martita Martinez-Bravo, executive director of Friends of Fieldworkers, Inc. “The majority are asking for food. That’s never happened before.”
Says Monica White, president and CEO of Food Share, “The number of people served at Food Share’s College Park drive-through distribution in Oxnard has reached the highest number since the pandemic.” Food Forward distributed 1,646,264 pounds of food in Ventura County from January to September last year; an increase of 35% compared to the year prior.
FARMERS’ PERSPECTIVES
From Ventura County farmers’ perspectives, there’s an urgent need to care for our community members.
“[There is] a pervasive and palpable fear, regardless of people’s documentation status,” says Helen McGrath. On her farms in Somis and Fillmore, she has noticed behavioral changes in her crew. Growers are shifting their work hours to avoid conflict with immigration officials. Crews that migrate to the Pacific Northwest to harvest cherries and apples did not risk travel this year.
While she has not seen an immediate impact on her business, she knows if this continues another six to 18 months, more farmers and workers will see economic impacts: “The workers lose income by skipping out on that secondary harvest seasonal work. And the fruit doesn’t get picked. So that affects the growers as well.”
McGrath is quick to point out the interconnectedness of the problem: “I don’t find any comfort in things being calm and quiet at the moment, because they’re not in other parts of our community.”
Policies affecting construction, healthcare, education, childcare and food assistance also affect the agricultural workforce. McGrath remains steadfast in her support of her employees’ well-being: “We don’t want targets put on ourselves or our employees, but we are having internal conversations about how we get out of this.”
Jesus Marmolejo, who supervises King Produce in Santa Paula, witnessed unsustainable upheaval for both his growers and the farm’s viability. When local deportations began this year, his workers would come to work only two or three days a week—just enough to buy groceries. When larger deportation raids occurred over the summer, and after five of his workers were detained, one-quarter of his workforce disappeared. To address his primary concern—the health of his community—Marmolejo created a system for donating food and other necessities on the farm.
He would ask people in the community for donations, then workers would drive by and pick up whatever they needed: food, diapers, baby formula and other essentials. Some people showed up who had no affiliation with the farm, but he’d help them, too.
“I feel really proud of what I’m doing,” says Marmolejo. “Whenever you are down, that’s when you really want to get back up. And that’s what’s happening here.”
Guillermo Jimenez, who grows herbs and vegetables on his small-scale farm in Fillmore, shared via interpreter the need for the public to understand agricultural workers’ situation. One of his workers was detained, he says, and five more stopped coming to work, due to fear of deportation. Jimenez buys supplies for his workforce now because everyone who works for him is afraid to drive more than necessary. He feels the deportations and consequent fear are unjust and sad, because his workers pay taxes and buy products locally.
In an era where food waste accounts for 30–40% of the food supply, according the USDA, it seems farcical that those most responsible for bringing food to markets are so heavily affected by food insecurity.
You can help by donating food, time or money to the following food assistance programs:
FoodShare: FoodShare.com
Community Action VC: Email [email protected]
Food Forward: FoodForward.org
Friends of Fieldworkers: FriendsofFieldworkers.org
Find Help: FindHelp.org/food/emergency-food-ventura-ca
