New Resource Available for the Oaxacan Community Shed

Center For Farmworker Families (CFF) has many projects, among them is Oaxacan Community Shed. The shed is located in Watsonville, CA, and is supporting the most recent Oaxacan farmworker families that arrived to the area.

In the beginning of every month, thanks to generous donations, Center for Farmworker Families are able to stocks the shed with basic necessities that farmworkers are not able to purchase. The necessities that are being distributed include but are not limited to toilet paper, diapers, beans, soap, laundry, and towels. The last items are extra important as farmworkers during a workday are exposed to toxic pesticides that stick as much to plants, trees and fruits, as to a farmworkers clothing. The toxic pesticide in farmworkers clothing after a workday has been seen as a significant cause to cancer in children of farmworker households. It is therefore important to provide laundry and bath soap to farmworker households in order to rid their clothing and bodies of harmful pesticides.

More than 40 families with variable number of children visit the Oaxacan Community Shed on a monthly basis. The families are in such need of the essential items the shed is offering that some families are traveling from as far away as Castroville, Salinas, Los Baños, and Las Lomas, which all are located between 16 and 70 miles from the shed. A recent survey showed that the most needed items include baby diapers in all sizes, baby wipes, paper towels, toilet paper, rice, beans, shampoo, bath soap, laundry detergent and dish soap.

Oaxacan Community Shed has over the past years also become a central location for meetings and a place for distribution of important information that affects the farmworker community. You can find more information about the community shed here.

The Center for Farmworker Families made a pamphlet to easier spread the word about the essential work that is being done by Oaxacan Community Shed. The pamphlet is also a source of information to make awareness about the living conditions of many of California’s farmworkers. The pamphlet is available in both English and Spanish, and can be found here. 

We encourage you to make a difference. By talking to your friends and family about farmworkers living- and working condition, by sharing the pamphlet and this blog post on social media, or by printing the pamphlet and giving it to your neighbors - you are taking a great part in the work of making California a more social just place.

The Center for Farmworker Families would never had been able to keep up doing this work without donations. All donations are appreciated, large and small. A monthly donation will mean a more stable income that will secure a greater security for farmworkers depending upon the food supplies given by Oaxacan Community Shed.

Center for Farmworker Families is run entirely by volunteers, and all donations go directly into supporting and improving the lives of farmworker families.

How You Can help:

• Download, print, and hand out the Oaxacan Community Shed Pamphlet to help raise awareness.  You can download the pamphlet here.

• Donate materials.  If you have clothing, baby diapers in all sizes, baby wipes, paper towels, toilet paper, rice, beans, shampoo, bath soap, laundry detergent and dish soap,you want to donate , please fill out please fill out our donation form, located at the bottom of the Community Shed page.

• Monthly Donations.  This helps us make sure we can keep the Community Shed stocked every month by making a monetary donation.  You can make a monthly donatation here.

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