Esperanza Food Hub
In fall 2021 Esperanza Community Farms assisted small BIPOC farmers in establishing a farmer cooperative on the Central Coast. They called it the 7+ Organics Co-op. Three years later in fall of 2024, it became an independent ag coop operating under the leadership of the same founding farmer members.
During the 3 years of incubation of the cooperative, we grew into our role as an aggregator and technical assistance training organization.
In 2015, UC SAREP launched the California Food Hub Network, a learning network to coordinate technical assistance, collaborative learning and information sharing for and among food hubs in California. In August 2024, Esperanza Food Hub was invited and added to the CA Food Hub Network Food Hub map.
The USDA defines Food Hubs and Values-based supply chains as: “a business or organization that actively manages the aggregation, distribution, and marketing of source-identified food products primarily from local and regional producers to strengthen their ability to satisfy wholesale, retail, and institutional demand”.
In December of 2024, our Board of Directors discussed and voted to officially use the title of Food Hub to describe our integrated work including purchasing produce from farmers, distributing produce with local families and community organizations, and educating a wide-range of visitors about organic and regenerative agriculture.
ESPERANZA FOOD HUB OPERATING PRINCIPLES
Esperanza Food Hub is young and is still forming. With only 3 years of experience under our belt, our strength is in ensuring farmers have a voice in the design process. This approach requires time and thoughtful rhythm.
Currently, we operate the food hub with a commitment to supporting primarily small family farmers, women-owned businesses, and producers of color. Our regional approach includes Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito counties. Over the years, we’ve strengthened relationships with over 20 farmers, including new farmers with only 1 year of experience and those with between 20-40 acres who have been farming for over 10 years.
Esperanza Food Hub implements a multi-pronged approach to make sure farmers have access to fair markets, consumers are learning about the importance of supporting local farms and that we are strengthening leadership & advocacy in the growing local food movement regionally and beyond.
In 2022, Esperanza attracted $50K to kick-off what later became the Food Hub. Little did we know our trajectory would grow our Farmer Technical Assistance Program exponentially in just a few years. In 2023, we doubled earnings for the 7+ Organics Coop and then again in 2023, opening doors to small buyers such as Veggielution, WIC and the Farm-2-Cafeteria Program at PVUSD.
In addition to working with the cooperative, we provide assistance to farmers who want to sell directly to school districts.
Sustainable Agriculture Program through Education in Action
The Covid-19 pandemic and historic floods in 2023 posed challenges to independent and underrepresented specialty crop growers’ ability to cultivate and distribute of these vital crops to local schools, farmers’ markets, and corner stores. The competitiveness of specialty crops produced by small farmers has been weakened by these environmental and health crises, because small farmers have fewer resources to recover from damages. The flooding from 2023 caused damage to over 20,000 acres of farmland and led to a highly delayed planting season. ECF identifies that support of small Latinx, Mexican, and Mexican-Indigenous specialty crop farmers is a crucial part of the recovery from the 2023 crisis. Building a blueprint for culturally supportive workforce training and technical business skill sets will help the overall industry bounce-back from future challenges. This project model brings regional Central Coast specialty crop farmers together to share skills, build economic capacity, and grow distribution and relationships to local schools, community markets, and CSA basket programs. Skill building and workshops will focus on bringing specialty crops into regional underserved populations, increasing overall consumption, and understanding of their value.
In Farm We Trust
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In Farm We Trust 🍓
In the Pájaro and Salinas Valleys of Central Coast CA, small farmers of color struggle to enter the specialty crops market in the rich agricultural setting flush with large farm projects. Through PASEA we address the common struggles to access sustainable and just markets, operational equipment, and innovation in the field. As a technical advisor, Esperanza Community Farms has provided assistance and capacity-building to a network of regional organic farmers through bi-weekly lab-based trainings that build skills in procurement, communication with client bases, contract negotiations, and social capital. Part of our mission is a commitment to creating conditions where small Latinx, Mexican, and Mexican-Indigenous farmers can build wealth through their farm business.
This area, encompassing Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito Counties are among the most productive specialty crop regions in California. In 2017, sales of fruits and vegetables in the three counties were more than $4 billion. Despite this abundance, local small organic farmers, especially Latinx, Mexican, and Mexican-Indigenous immigrant farmers, face extremely limited economic opportunity when competing against traditional corporate farms, despite using cutting-edge, regenerative practices that contribute towards an environmentally sustainable future for specialty crops. These highly skilled organic farmers possess valuable community ties, with the potential to increase the consumption of specialty crops to currently underserved populations and markets in the Central Coast.
GENERAL FARMER TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
In fall 2023, the 7+ Organics Co-op became an independent Ag Cooperative, operated by its farmer members.
Esperanza Community Farms offered technical assistance to form the 7+ Organics Co-op. This effort made visible the invisible and problematic systems that keep small BIPOC* farmers out of the traditional markets. This part of our work highlights the potential of small farmers to localize our food systems and make possible a more dynamic, less wasteful, and more holistic approach to good food for all. (*Black, Indigenous, People of Color)
If you are interested in learning more, you can get in touch with us by email (info@esperanzacommunityfarms.org) or by calling at +1 (831) 588-4370
Esperanza Community Farm responds to general inquiries and requests for support from small farmers. In particular, we provide information about grant and networking opportunities and project-specific referrals to state-wide resources.
7+ Organics Coop at Power Plant Farmer’s Market in fall 2022.
7+ Organics Co-op making CSA boxes - 2023
Volunteers gather to pack CSA baskets twice weekly between June – October. Vegetables are grown at the farm and aggregated from surrounding small farms.
Producers participate in learning a variety of skills they identify as strategies to create new markets. The CSA model is a preferred model of small farmers because of the direct-to-consumer aspect as well as the lower investment costs.
La Cooperativa
La Escuela
Los Farmers
Los Precios
