For the Hmong farmers of California’s Central Valley, the struggles can be many. And the drought hasn’t helped matters.
But some are succeeding, selling their produce at farmers’ markets like the downtown Berkeley, California, market thatNew York Times food writer Mark Bittman often frequents.
In a new mini-documentary released late last month, Bittman explores some of the challenges faced by the state’s Hmong farmers. In the piece, he meets the University of California Berkeley’s Jennifer Sowerwine, who is part of an initiative to help Hmong farmers in the state both sustain and grow their operations.
Sowerwine is helping the farmers deal with the ramifications of the state’s drought and helping them access government assistance if they need it. She also helped create a more culturally appropriate food safety training program to help them meet the requirements of certain buyers. In one case, a farmer is now selling his produce to Fresno Unified School District.
The video feature is the ninth addition to Bittman’s 10-part series on sustainable agriculture and healthy eating in California produced in partnership with the University of California and the Berkeley Food Institute.
In another feature in the series, Bittman reports on efforts to learn more about the impact of pesticides and environmental chemicals on farm families in Salinas County. In another, Bittman learns more about the challenges increasing ocean acidification present for Bay Area oyster farmers and their strategies to cope with it.
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