Esperanza Community Farms

09/01/2026

In California's Pajaro Valley, where nearly 40% of the state's strawberries are grown, residents face a stark health crisis. Santa Cruz County, home to Driscoll's world headquarters, now ranks second in California for pediatric cancer rates among children ages 0 to 14.

Current data shows childhood cancer rates at 22.5 cases per 100,000 children — more than 38% above California's statewide average of 16.3 cases per 100,000. The disparity is concentrated in agricultural areas where intensive pesticide spraying occurs adjacent to schools and residential neighborhoods.

Over 1 million pounds of pesticides are applied annually in Santa Cruz County, with the majority used in the Pajaro Valley's strawberry fields. Agricultural workers and local physicians document that 98.5% of pesticides associated with childhood leukemia and 95.2% of those linked to childhood brain cancer were applied in the Watsonville area in 2019 alone.

Driscoll's, the dominant strawberry producer in the region, applies soil fumigants including 1,3-D (officially designated a carcinogen by California) and chloropicrin (originally used as a chemical weapon). While the company produces 15-20% of its berries organically, conventional pesticide applications continue near schools despite calls from local health advocates, farmworker organizations, and residents for organic conversion in residential areas.

Source: Center for Farmworker Families. (2025). Pesticide exposure and childhood cancer in Santa Cruz County. López, A. (2025). The Importance of Organic is on Full Display in Driscoll's Non-Organic Backyard. The Urban Activist. (2025). A California Berry Town Builds the Case for Organic Agriculture. Lookout Santa Cruz. (2025). Driscoll's has the resources and know-how to shift to organics around schools.
Image: Driscollis

09/01/2026

08/30/2026

🚨 Tech billionaires are trying to force a last-minute "California Forever" deal through Sacramento — and it not only threatens Solano County farms that have worked this land for over 100 years, but sets a dangerous precedent for the whole state.

Local farmers kept farming all while developers quietly bought up 78 square miles around them (nearly 50,000 acres!) for their utopian city, but development plans leave open the door not only to a fast-tracked shipyard, but potential data centers too. Solano County residents and the Board of Supervisors have rejected these plans again and again.

Now, in the final days of the legislative session, backers are asking Gov. Newsom and lawmakers to override local control.

📞 Call your legislator today and urge them to oppose the California Forever budget trailer bill.

Find your rep's contact info by visiting the link in our bio.

08/29/2026

Looking forward to the Monterey Open Farm Tours ... coming up fast and only 2 weeks away! Cudos to CAFF for organizing this event in honor of women farmers in our community.

Can purchase tickets at the link below...
https://actionnetwork.org/ticketed_events/monterey-open-farm-tours?source=direct_link&

08/28/2026

Save the Date
Thursday, September 10, 2026 from 6-8pm

Celebrating the International Year of the Woman Farmer. www.esperanzacommunityfarms.org/year-women-farmer-2026

You are invited to hear fascinating leadership voices! Learn about what inspires, teaches, and supports them!

On Thursday, September 10, 2026 from 6-8pm, the Friends of the Watsonville Public Library and the Watsonville Film Festival will co-host a public event entitled: Women’s Leadership: Advancing Equity for Women and Girls.

Women's Leadership Panel includes:

Alicia Martinez, Director of the Watsonville Public Library

Dr. Blanca Baltazar-Sabbah, Vice President of Cabrillo College Student Services

Consuelo Alba-Speyer, Executive Director of the Watsonville Film Festival,

Stephanie Barron Lu, Executive Director of Positive Discipline Community Resources,

Mireya Gomez-Contreras, Executive Director at Esperanza Community Farms. Celebrating the United Nations International Year of the Woman Farmer, 2026

In light of current challenges to self-determination in reproductive health, work-life balance, legislative protections for sports, discrimination against women in the workforce under evolving DEI policies, and wavering guarantees to advocacy at both the local and state levels, panelists will speak about films, mentors, and books that impacted their leadership.

This panel will be a community starting point for building a shared vision, one that incorporates resistance and inspiration.

Great refreshments will be served. This panel will be a community starting point for building a shared vision, one that incorporates resistance and inspiration. We sincerely hope you can join as we build this important conversation. Hosted by the Watsonville Friends of the Library. Come hear our surprise poet at the Watsonville Library, 275 Main St, Watsonville

08/28/2026

Buy and support your for better health and food sovereignty. Thank you, ‪‬ , for this research.

08/27/2026

The CEO of Watsonville-based Driscoll’s Inc., the largest berry company in the world, has stepped down after less than three years in the role. 

The company announced Tuesday that Soren Bjorn will be replaced by Brie Reiter Smith, effective immediately. Smith is the great-granddaughter of one of Driscoll’s co-founders and the daughter of former CEO J. Miles Reiter.

“While I may not have followed the traditional path to this role, no one believes in our company’s mission more than me,” Smith said in a press release. Smith assumed the role of vice chair of the company’s board of directors in January, and has worked in various roles across the company for more than a decade.

The company did not state the reason for the change in leadership. Bjorn could not immediately be reached for comment and Driscoll’s did not respond to follow-up questions. 

The change comes as the company has faced lawsuits and heightened scrutiny of their pesticide practices, led by local activists who oppose the use of pesticides near schools, and are calling for more fields to be converted to organic.

For years, activists have demanded Driscoll’s do more to protect Pajaro Valley farmworkers and school children from the pesticides used to boost yields of profitable crops like strawberries and blackberries.

In recent months Driscoll’s, and Smith specifically, have directly engaged with activists, an unusual move for leaders of the tightly guarded company. She published a full-page opinion letter in the print versions of the Santa Cruz Sentinel on June 16 and June 17, asking activists to stop targeting Driscoll’s and its leaders and owners. 

Providence Martinez Alaniz, a Watsonville resident and advocate, responded with her own letter to the editor. 

When reached by phone Tuesday, Alaniz said she was glad Smith was now the CEO, and “I’m really looking forward to talking to her in person. And I hope that she can get a hold of me because I’ve been trying to get a hold of her, and I haven’t been successful.”

Last year, Alaniz joined pesticide activist Omar Dieguez (pictured above) in a hunger strike to bring attention and public pressure to the issue.

Story by Nik Altenberg

08/26/2026

Visit Esperanza on Saturday, October 10, during the Open Farm Tours 🥬🚜🌶️

Enjoy fresh salads prepared with ingredients grown by the local farmers we proudly work alongside. Come tour the farm, discover where your food comes from, and meet the people who grow it! 💚

Tickets 🎟️ ticketstripe.com/events/3393109174433627

08/25/2026