California

California AgrAbility and Washington State University Extension hosted the Western Region Agricultural Stress Assistance Program (WRASAP) Quarterly Networking Meeting on January 14. WRASAP is a new USDA-NIFA funded effort to address farm stress. National AgrAbility, California AgrAbility, Colorado AgrAbility, and Washington AgrAbility are all programs directly involved with WRASAP. The Zoom gathering introduced the WRASAP program. Participants were active and demonstrated interest in this important topic for farm families. The meeting also served as the launch for the WRASAP Small Grants Program. Save the date for the next WRASAP Quarterly Networking Meeting, taking place April 8 at 1:00 p.m. PST, 2 p.m. MST, 4 p.m. EST. To learn more visit: farmstress.us.

California AgrAbility staffed a virtual booth at the 41st Annual EcoFarm Conference January 20-23. The Eco Farm Conference nurtures just and ecologically sustainable farms and food systems through education, alliance building, celebration, and advocacy. Other organizations staffing booths were the Center for Land Based Learning, Alexandre Family Farm, CalFresh, Straus Family Creamery, and Patagonia. The event featured several keynote speeches including the Coalition of Immokalee Workers who presented on their working Campaign for Fair Food which is now recognized as the gold standard for empowering farmworkers to create their own solutions for fair and safe jobs. Successful organic farmers highlighted the idea of being an integral part of our environment and needing to eat from their own crops with unique local nutrients, microbes, and season pollen. The University of California at San Francisco presented on the concept of farming as medicine. The event also included a virtual seed swap luncheon.

Staff attended the RISE Collaborative Meeting of Yolo County. A representative from Empower Yolo presented on human trafficking and how it has affected Yolo County and the Greater Sacramento Region. Human trafficking is the 2nd most profitable criminal enterprise with California as the top destination state. Human trafficking labor can be found everywhere - in hotel hospitality hair salons and even agricultural work. The representative emphasized key aspects of identifying human trafficking, as it is often hidden in plain sight. These key aspects include individuals who are fearful, experiencing deceit, and/or are under duress or threatened.

Submitted by Sara Wat