News and observation about the American food system.
A Q&A with Maximina Hernandez Reyes, who attributes her good fortune to a Portland, Oregon food network called the Rockwood Food Systems Collaborative.
By Elizabeth Doerr
August 20, 2024
Maximina Hernández Reyes photographed in MR. Farms in Boring, Oregon. (Photo credit: Elizabeth Doerr)
When Maximina Hernandez Reyes immigrated from Oaxaca, Mexico, to Oregon in 2001, she was still learning English, had no idea where the food pantries were, and knew very few people. He struggled to find a formula in the Portland suburb of Gresham, until 2012, when he stumbled upon a turf network in the city’s Vance Park.
Hernández Reyes grew up subsistence farming with his parents in Oaxaca, and the grass spoke to him. He called a nearby number and contacted Adam Kohl, executive director of Outdeveloping Hunger, an organization that rents unused land at affordable prices to help immigrants and refugees grow their own food. Hernández Reyes managed to unload a small plot of land from the network and began to prepare food for his family. It’s just the beginning.
Over the next decade, gardening went from hobby to hobby for Hernández Reyes, but that didn’t mean she earned an income. As she rose through the ranks at McDonald’s and eventually became a manager, she worked in the garden to produce new products for her family and neighbors. Over time, she became a leader of netpaintings through her garden paintings; Her original land is now an educational site where she teaches gardening to other Latinas.
Maximina Hernandez Reyes grows a diversity of produce, adding many vegetables and herbs discovered in her home state of Oaxaca, Mexico. (Photo credit: Elizabeth Doerr)
Two years ago, Hernández Reyes had the opportunity to expand his own farm and turn it into a source of income. He is now in his second season running a one-acre farm rented through Outgrowing Hunger in the nearby town of Boring, Oregon. she called Operation MR. Firm with her initials, she leaned on the other people who misunderstood her as “Sir. ” The company has been so successful that she was able to leave her job at McDonald’s last year and she went from feeding her family to feeding. . . and mentoring: her entire community.
Hernandez Reyes attributes his good fortune in this food sovereignty endeavor to supporting a network called the Rockwood Food Systems Collaborative (RFSC), which is a component of a larger organization called the Rockwood Community Development Corporation, which focuses on underserved spaces in East Portland and Gresham. The RFSC is comprised of approximately 30 organizations, in addition to social services, food justice initiatives, and educational and fitness institutions.
Traditionally, food safety organizations source food anywhere they can get it, and because donations rarely come from local manufacturers, formula affects processed foods and the reliance on a precarious world of food formulas. The collaborative model, rather than offering one-way charity, focuses on mutualism and networked care. Partnerships with local manufacturers create a market that supports agricultural entrepreneurship; network members get new products; and formula is more resilient to global food shortages.
“When other people see those vegetables at the farmers market, they get excited. They say, ‘I haven’t noticed this in years!’ or ‘I was looking for this. ‘”
At Вcwood, when someone demonstrates farming skill, especially when it benefits their network, a contributing member connects them with member organizations that can help them access resources and relationships to build a successful agricultural business. When Hernandez Reyes got involved, Outgrowing Hunger provided her with land and connected her to the Oregon Food Bank, which buys vegetables from her for her pantries, and to Rockwood People’s Market, a BIPOC-run farmers market in Gresham, where she sells her produce daily. She and other farmers can also sell their produce to local network members, who pay with tokens provided through feed formula partners, the local budget fitness clinic Wallace Medical Concern and youth facility organization Play Grow Learn.
Rockwood Food Systems Collaborative is one of many networks in the United States serving as a model for a more resilient food and fitness system. Others come with Hawai’i Food Hub Hui, the Food Empowerment Cooperative Directive and the Mississippi Farm to School Network. By leveraging social capital between institutions, these networks, along with the network members themselves, create a local food system of choice. This can be particularly difficult for immigrants and non-U. S. citizens, who are twice as likely to be among the 44 million people in the United States facing food insecurity.
Civil Eats recently spoke with Hernandez Reyes about her adventure with this collaborative model, the organizations that have supported her new venture, and how food development brings freedom to immigrant families.
What do you miss most about your home in Oaxaca?
What I miss are undeniable things like traditions, my family, and my culture. That was before. But now we’ve built the same network here and brought our traditions here. My vegetables are part of those traditions.
At first they only grew a little because of the seeds I had brought I only had one plant. But we stored the seeds and used them and now we have more of our classic vegetables to share with my community: Roma tomatillos and tomatoes (but not like the ones you find at the grocery store; they’re better) Green bean mix from my state, Mexican corn types and pipicha, papalo, and epazina [herbs used in classic dishes from central and southern Mexico]. When other people see those vegetables at the farmer’s market, they get excited. They say, “I haven’t realized that for many years!”» or “I was looking for them. “
What is your role at the Rockwood Food Systems Collaborative, and how have those connections helped you?
I volunteered during the pandemic with Outgrowing Hunger to distribute food boxes to families. Through this, I met other people from Rockwood CDC, Play Grow Learn, Metropolitan Family Service, and many other organizations. Then I became concerned with Guerreras Latinas [an empowerment program for Spanish-speaking Latinas] where I taught gardening through a program called Sembradoras, supported through investment from the Oregon Food Bank.
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Connections get advantages in my business. When organizations have grants, they can buy vegetables from me. That way, they to me and then I to the community. There is this cycle. I need to leave my vegetables in the community; I don’t need to send my vegetables to the branches.
How did you manage to take off?
I started my business when I saw that my net paints needed the types of vegetables I was growing. And I wondered: how can I sell my vegetables? I talked to Lynn [Ketch, CEO] about Rockwood CDC and she asked me why I didn’t turn it into a business. And I said, “Yes!” Why not?!’ I was a gardener, but I wanted to take farming to the next level. I am motivated to paint a lot because I need to serve my netpaintings; I need to grow more food.
“When organizations get grants, they can buy vegetables from me. That way, they to me and then I to the community. There is this cycle.
At first, we didn’t have enough cash to pay rent for the land at Outgrowing Hunger. So Adam presented me with some features that would allow me to pay after 3 or 4 months of promoting vegetables. He had someone to help us when he needed it and he put me in touch with other organizations.
Another was the Oregon Food Bank. Since it was my first year of farming, they helped me buy my products to distribute in the pantry. They pay you in advance, so with that money I started buying irrigation and everything. Another organization, Metropolitan Family Service, purchased a small amount of vegetables, which also helped.
Does developing food and connecting with the Food Collaborative provide freedom for immigrant families in your community?
Yes, it is helping a lot. Here at Outgrowing Hunger, the rental value is not that high. And Outgrowing Hunger is helping us apply for grants. There is plenty of room for other people to grow their own food at home, so gardening soil comes in handy. But we want to teach other people how and where to grow new vegetables.
The collaboration helped provide more information to others. For others who are unable to grow their own food, organizations buy the food and network members get tokens in exchange for loose produce and can buy new produce at the farmer’s market. The benefits are many: Other people’s hearts are better, healthier, and enjoy less stress. There’s a lot of freedom in that.
How is running in this kind of collaborative style different from what you experienced when you arrived in the United States?
There is a big difference. In some pantries they asked you for address, social security data and documents. Immigrants were afraid to pass because they would be forced to share all their data. It was also difficult to know where those pantries were. From now on, the pantries no longer ask about this. But also, thanks to this organization of organizations, there is much more data on where other people can get more food.
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I encountered demanding situations before locating the collaboration. The organizations did not have enough Spanish speakers and there was not much data available. It’s hard to make connections. I didn’t know my neighbors very well either. But now, with this organization of organizations, things have changed. Everyone speaks Spanish and there is much more information about the resources available.
M. Farms in Boring, Oregon, with Mount Hood in the background. (Photo credit: Elizabeth Doerr)
Which members of netpaintings have you met through your paintings on agriculture and food systems?
I’ve met a lot of other people since volunteering here and I’ve made all those connections in my neighborhood. I reach out to other people and tell them what I do and how I grow vegetables, and I take them that way. I build a network through food. With Outgrowing Hunger, when I had two Latinos, and now we have 30. I tell them: “You can apply for this; You can get this resource. I have whatsapp and when I am informed of opportunities I share.
One of those families told me they didn’t have enough cash to buy food. This woman said that she tried to go to the pantry, but they asked for all those documents. I told her: “I have vegetables on my lawn” and she was very happy. I asked her why she didn’t have cash and she told me that her husband was in poor health and that she was simply working, that her salary was very high and that they had 3 small children. I put her in touch with Outdeveloping Hunger, she implemented this area in the lawn and started developing her own greens.
What are your hopes for the future?
Oh my god. So much. My dream is to expand my farm, create jobs for immigrants or anyone who needs to paint. Produce more. Right now, it’s a family farm: my husband, my kids, my brothers, the rest of the community. I really want to create a program to give moms jobs during the summer. You can bring your children and come paint. . I keep thinking and thinking – and I need to do it all!
This interview was conducted in English and Spanish and has been translated and edited for length and clarity.
Elizabeth Doerr is a writer, mother, and small business owner in Portland, Oregon. She writes about issues of climate justice, resilience, parenting, and place. She is most recently participating in Cramming for the Apocalypse, an assignment and e-book that explores the intersection of climate justice, climate grief, and crisis preparedness. Read more>
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