Food Growers and the Hungry will benefit amid the pandemic from the new Initiative, Farm to Foodbank
(Photo: Twitter)

For Fidel Gonzalez, an Albuquerque farmer, harvests are bountiful. He enumerated that there are turnips, peas which, he even said, is in season, salad mix, radishes, and more.

However, for weeks now, the farmer was not sure where he would market and sell his vegetables since Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, in an initiative to slow the spread of COVID-19, imposed restrictions on restaurant-eating, one of his most significant sources of revenue. 

This call of the governor to restrict dining at restaurants said this Los Jardines de Moktezuma farm owner, really impacted his sales. He added, though, that "Fortunately, COVID-19, this situation we are going through," teaches humans what they need to be alive -food and agriculture.

As local farms are struggling to sustain themselves, the food banks of the state are grappling with shortages in donations since grocery stores, as well as the other donors, are also stretched thin on supply.

Farm to Foodbank

Because of the current situation, the number of individuals who experience hunger in New Mexico continues to increase as the ongoing pandemic has led to skyrocketing rates of job insecurity and even unemployment. And, in an initiative to help, the American Friends Service Committee's New Mexico chapter launched Farm to Foodbank. 

American Friends Services Committee is a Quaker-affiliated international nonprofit organization advocating for social justice and peace with a concentration in sustainable agriculture, specifically in New Mexico.

It is an initiative that will provide supplies and monetary assistance to farmers, which they need to continue producing this season in exchange for organic, fresh produce that can be donated to depots and food pantries across the state.

The main idea, according to the organizers, is to offset the damages done to both distributors and food growers at a time when their role is most important.

Only Part of the Project

According to Sayrah Namaste, the program director of the state's American Friends Services Committee, this initiative is undoubted "a wonderful win-win."

Buying food from the farm, said Namaste, is just a part of the Farm to Foodbank initiative. It is an instantaneous way to guarantee that farmers are rewarded for their work, not to mention, their produce not wasted. 

The project's second tier is to offer the farmers a maximum of $500worth of supplies so they can continue production amid these trying times. In exchange for the monetary subsidy, the organization will collect the corresponding "amount of produce for partners" seeking to close the hunger gap of Mexico.

To date, items requested include masks, irrigation systems, seeds, specialized bleach, and gloves needed to sanitize the kitchen.

For example, the Ancestral Lands program organizers at Acoma Pueblo requested for seeds. In exchange for that, they have committed a portion of the crops to the senior center of the pueblo.

Also, Gonzalez requested seeds, particularly those of sugar snap peas, sunflowers, and turnips since he can say, he can "do more with seeds than anything else."

Roadrunner Food Bank communications director, Sony Warwick, said even though Roadrunner is struggling to look for nonperishable goods in bulk instead of produce, the initiatives of Farm to Foodbank are highly appreciated. And, in this very challenging time, he said, unemployment is steadily rising in New Mexico.

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