Growing Justice youth (GJ) and CAN continue to build collective power to transform Watsonville, California’s food system, one dominated by high-input berries for global export. In partnership with Tierras Milperas, an assembly of campesino families stewarding 7 community gardens, youth plant milpa(integrated system of corn, beans, squash and
We know that land, seeds, and community organization are critical to building resilience and collective power in food systems.
In a year of
2020 has indeed been a tumultuous year for the entire world. As COVID-19 spread around the globe, community efforts to strengthen local food systems proved critical for surviving the pandemic’s effects. CAN’s partners have exuded hope and resilience during these trying times and have mitigated health risks, financial strain,
In Times of Pandemics, Peasants United Feed the People!
Growing Justice youth plants heirloom Zuni bush beans in Riverpark Garden in Watsonville, California, April 15, 2020.
Ashley Solis; photo courtesy Emily Cohen
Meet Ashley Solis, one of CAN’s youth leaders. Born in Watsonville, California, to Mexican migrant parents, Ashley juggles schoolwork with jobs in the agricultural fields and packing houses. Ashley knows first-hand what it means to live in the world’s largest producing area
The Power of Storytelling Amid rows of spring mix, petite sprouts, and berry fields, farmworker communities in Watsonville continue to experience high uncertainty in accessing healthy food. Through their research with CAN, the Growing Justice Youth Team has shown that the high cost of housing and barriers to community safety exacerbate hunger and
Community Agroecology Network staff, Friends of CAN, and Growing Justice youth had a great night sharing stories and pictures with the Santa Cruz community. A special thank you to Judy Ziegler from Cornucopia Real Estate for hosting CAN!
(left) Mario (seated) from the Growing
CAN is proud to announce that Ashley Solis-Pavon was selected by the local community as the 2017 Santa Cruz NEXTies “Person under 18.”
A photo taken of the Growing Justice project by Suraya Arslan, CAN’s Executive and Programs Coordinator, is one of the winners of the Johns Hopkins University Food Policy Networks 2nd annual photo contest.
The photo contest challenged the public to show what food policy looks like in action. One photo could be submitted in each of
“This network [and these Youth Exchanges] are a source of support for us to not feel alone. A bridge so that we don’t get stuck doing the same thing. !No somos ‘agri-locos’! (We are not agri-crazies!)” cheerfully proclaimed Amy Cruz, a student from the Nicaraguan National University in Jinotega who participated in CAN’s 6th Annual
After submitting a resume, writing a cover letter, and going through an interview—all for the first time—Ashley was chosen by a selection committee that included CAN staff and her fellow team members to be one of the two representatives from the Growing Justice youth team at CAN’s 6th Annual International Youth Exchange for Food Security &
Community Agroecology Network’s (CAN) Growing Justice youth team collaborated with seven University of California, Santa Cruz undergraduate students from Professor Emily Cohen Ibañez’s Visual Sociology class to produce a 20-minute film, the River Park Garden Film Collective documentary. Under the guidance of Cohen Ibañez, an award-winning professional filmmaker and anthropologist, the student team spent
Sophia Bassett applied skills that she learned in the Everett Program at UC Santa Cruz when she worked with students in Watsonville, California to produce food access maps. Her update follows.
My partners in this digital mapping project are Community Agroecology Network (CAN), Mesa Verde Gardens, the Everett
