Quick Take
As the Pajaro Valley’s growing season comes to a close, many of its workers turn to a monthly food distribution event hosted by the Center for Farmworker Families to alleviate the financial burdens that come with no work for a few months.
This midwinter season, Lookout Santa Cruz is checking in with some of the people and topics we’ve covered over the past year.
On a chilly December afternoon in Watsonville, Julia patiently waits in line in an alleyway to receive food, toiletries and sometimes extra clothes for her family. She’s just one of more than 100 other undocumented agricultural workers trying to get through the slow season on tight budgets with the threat of deportation hanging over their heads.
“I haven’t worked since October and it feels like I’m using more diapers and baby formula for my daughter,” said Julia, who has four daughters along with her husband, who is also undocumented. Lookout is choosing to not use her last name due to her immigration status.
The nonprofit Center for Farmworker Families holds a food and toiletries distribution in Watsonville on the second Friday of every month for undocumented agricultural workers, many of whom are out of a job for the next few months during the offseason.
Over the past year, since the Trump administration initiated large-scale immigration actions in Los Angeles and other cities, Santa Cruz County’s farmworkers have been wondering if raids would happen here, where they harvest the region’s cash crops.
While undocumented workers picked strawberries, blackberries and leafy greens at the height of the growing season, the most powerful men in Washington, D.C., made the case for deporting them, and protestors across the country rallied in their defense.
Large-scale immigration raids never came to Santa Cruz County, but records show ICE notified local law enforcement agencies about 29 separate enforcement actions. So now undocumented residents’ fears have subsided a bit, and these low-paid but essential workers are back to their usual worries — making ends meet on meager savings until spring vegetables are ready for harvest and work is steady again.
On average, the food distribution serves roughly up to 200 families each month, and during the winter months — November through March or April — those numbers usually double. This month, the organization served nearly 700 families, according to Center for Farmworker Families founder Ann Lopez.
It’s crucial to help these families, she said: “Here they are feeding us, and then they go through a period of time when they’re hungry. To me, it’s immoral and unethical.”
For nearly two years, Julia has relied on the monthly distributions when the strawberry picking season is over. And this year’s season ended nearly a month earlier than usual because of the rainy weather, she said.
Julia has four daughters; her youngest is just 11 months old. She said she comes to distributions for the diapers, which take up a significant chunk of her family’s budget when she pays for them out of pocket: “I save at least $20 by getting diapers here.”
In the first weeks of the Trump administration, the distribution briefly saw fewer people coming due to deportation fears. During that distribution, the organization and its volunteers prepacked grocery bags with food and other supplies as a safety precaution for the families seeking resources. Since then, the number of people showing up to the monthly event has returned to normal, aside from a brief dip in the summer as many returned to work in the fields.
Julia told Lookout that her fears of being swept up in an immigration enforcement action have eased for the moment. “In January, when the rumors of immigration were going around I was scared,” she said. “Plus, I had just given birth and was on maternity leave, so I didn’t have to go outside as much.”
Like many families in the Pajaro Valley, Julia has prepared a child care safety plan just in case she or her husband gets detained by immigration officials. This allows for parents to have a voice in who they want to care for their children in unexpected emergencies.
Julia said creating a plan gave her a sense of safety and assurance in the face of uncertainty. Her eldest daughter, who is 15, is aware of the plan and understands why it’s important to have one.
Lopez told Lookout that she often checks in with the Watsonville Police Department prior to the distributions to see if there’s any potential danger to the community. She said it’s been “smooth sailing” because there haven’t been major raids in the area. If there ever is a heavy immigration enforcement presence, Lopez said she’d cancel the distributions for the families’ safety.
“So far, we’ve been lucky,” she said.
Just a few days later, Julia is back in line again, this time with her 11-month-old in tow, and instead of food, she’s waiting for potential Christmas gifts for her daughters.
In the spirit of the holidays, the Center for Farmworker Families also hosts extra distributions so families have holiday gifts for their children and any extra financial assistance for things like groceries or rent.
“We’re sometimes working two or three days, and it’s not enough,” said Julia. “It’s not enough for the food, rent, bills, all of that. Not even for my kids’ gifts.”
Karina, who was also waiting for a chance to get presents for her kids, told Lookout that during the fruit-picking season, she tries to save as much money as possible for the offseason. “Instead of going into debt, we need to save a little for food, or even emergencies,” she said in Spanish.
She and her friend Maria (both declined to share their last names because of their immigration status) told Lookout that this month’s distribution was the second time they’ve attended the event. Karina added that she heard about the resources through a coworker.
Due to increased need during the offseason, Karina and Maria told Lookout they were concerned about items running out at both distribution days. The two friends were able to walk out with a large bag full of stuff, like toys, jackets and a blanket.
Julia, just like Karina and Maria, walked out with a big smile on her face. She said she felt a weight off her shoulders since there was one less thing to worry about.
“They deserve it,” said Lopez. “That’s the least we can do as a society for all the work they do for us.”
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