Resetting the Table - Dorothy Edwards Visual Journalist

Washington is an agricultural powerhouse, producing some of the highest yields of fruit, vegetables and grains in the country — yet despite this bounty, plenty of people can’t access it. Entire communities can’t get to the food they need, and while many are in urban centers, rural and suburban communities deal with the issue in entirely unique ways. While visiting diverse communities throughout western Washington — immigrants, farmworkers, grocery shoppers in rural and urban areas alike — we found examples of what fixing Washington’s food system might look like from the ground up.

For rural Native communities, affordable groceries can be hours away

Dawn Gomez makes the 120-mile roundtrip drive from Forks to Port Angeles every two weeks to do her grocery shopping because, she says, the only local grocery store in Forks is not affordable. She serves as the Tribal Chairman and Community Health Representative for the Hoh tribe on the Olympic Peninsula. Gomez often brings her 25-year-old son, Marcelino Tegoseak, shopping with her because she says the long shopping days are hard on her physically. She has to pack her fresh food in to insulated cooler bags so they don't spoil on the long drive home. She normally uses her husband’s truck for trips so she can fit all of the groceries her family needs to last until the next 120-mile trip. “It's exhausting," she says. Since grocery shopping takes up most of the day, she can only go on weekends, so she has to buy enough groceries to last. She says her grocery bill is normally between $300-$400.

Dawn Gomez makes the 60-mile drive from Forks to Port Angeles to do her grocery shopping on March 30, 2019. She serves as the Tribal Chairman and Community Health Representative for the Hoh tribe. Gomez recently moved off of the reservation to the nearby town of Forks for health reasons, but she says the local grocery store in Forks is not affordable, so she makes the 120-mile round trip to do her grocery shopping.

Dawn Gomez often brings her 25-year-old son, Marcelino Tegoseak, shopping with her because she says the long shopping days are hard on her physically. Gomez says she makes the grocery trip every two weeks.

In the Port Angeles Walmart parking lot, Dawn Gomez packs her eggs in to insulated cooler bags. She says she packs all of her fresh and frozen groceries in to the bags so they don't spoil on the long drive home.

Marcelino Tegoseak, Dawn Gomez’s son, helps unload the truck bed full of groceries. Gomez uses the truck for trips so she can fit all of the groceries her family needs to last until the next 120-mile trip. “It's exhausting," she says.

Dawn Gomez hugs her son, Marcelino Tegoseak, before dropping him off at his home after their grocery shopping trip.

Dawn Gomez brings in her groceries from the car in to her Forks home. She lives with her husband, father, and daughter, and though her son Marcelino Tegoseak doesn't live with her, she still will help him with his groceries. Since grocery shopping takes up most of the day, she can only go on weekends, so she has to buy enough groceries to last for two weeks. She says her grocery bill is normally between $300-$400.

'No supervisors, no boss': Upending farm labor by owning the land

Modesto Hernandez and Ramon Torres founded the cooperative farm Cooperativa Tierra y Libertad (Land and Liberty Cooperative). Both worked for corporate farms in the past and have a collection of negative experiences including abuse and not being able to afford the very food they were harvesting. The goal is to eventually have several farmers living on the land and contributing to the farm. Though the farm is still relying on grants and donations to function, the goal is for it to be financially self-sufficient and house other farm workers that will also own and work on the land.

Modesto Hernandez, left, and Ramon Torres work on weeding around the blueberry bushes on their farm Cooperativa Tierra y Libertad (Land and Liberty Cooperative) on Jan. 24, 2020. The pair own and run the Bellingham farm themselves. Both worked for corporate farms in the past and have a collection of negative experiences, including abuse and not being able to afford the very food they were working with. The goal is to eventually have several farmers living on the land and contributing to the farm.

Ramon Torres prunes blueberry bushes on the farm he owns with his business partner Modesto Hernandez, Cooperativa Tierra y Libertad (Land and Liberty Cooperative), on Jan. 24, 2020. The pair do most of the work on their blueberry and raspberry farm themselves, including weeding and harvesting.

Modesto Hernandez laughs as he prepares carne asada and tortillas for himself and other farm workers on Feb. 15, 2020.

Ramon Torres takes a moment with his dog Lola while weeding around the blueberry bushes on the farm he runs with his business partner Modesto Hernandez, Cooperativa Tierra y Libertad (Land and Liberty Cooperative), on Feb. 3, 2020. Though the farm is still relying on grants and donations to function, its goal is to be financially self-sufficient and house other farm workers who will also own and work on the land.

Modesto Hernandez, right, and Ramon Torres work on weeding around the blueberry bushes on their farm Cooperativa Tierra y Libertad (Land and Liberty Cooperative) on Feb. 3, 2020.

After their neighborhood became a food desert, disabled residents are fighting back

Gina Magee was completely dependent on a caregiver to grocery shop. She used to be able to ride her motorized wheelchair to the Birchwood neighborhood Albertsons grocery store to shop for herself, but since it closed four years ago, there is no longer a grocery store close enough. "They took my independence," Magee said. Gina Magee was diagnosed with bone cancer 10 years ago, she had chronic pain from experiencing domestic violence, and she had a stroke and a heart attack. She spent most of her days in her Birchwood Manor apartment resting, and was visited by a caregiver four days per week to help with housework, cooking, and errands. Magee said that a lot of her neighbors in Birchwood Manor depended on the close proximity to a grocery store. "So many people are disabled at Birchwood Manor and when Albertsons closed, it really hurt us," she said. Though the nearest grocery store is about a mile away from her home, it was too far for her to take her motorized wheelchair and be able to shop by herself. When Albertsons closed four years ago, there was a non-compete clause put in place to prevent other grocery stores from moving in to that shopping center. Magee joined the Birchwood Food Desert Fighters to demand a grocery store move back in to the Birchwood neighborhood. "It is just hard," she said. "This is hard on everybody." Magee passed away before she could realize this vision for her neighborhood. But it continues on through her neighbors still fighting for a grocery store.

Gina Magee, 62, of Bellingham, arrives home with her groceries with the help of her caregiver Tammy on May 13, 2019. Magee was completely dependent on a caregiver to grocery shop. She used to be able to ride her motorized wheelchair to the Birchwood neighborhood Albertsons to shop for herself, but since it closed three years ago, there is no longer a grocery store close enough. "They took my independence," Magee said.

Gina Magee was diagnosed with bone cancer 10 years ago, she had chronic pain from experiencing domestic violence, and she had a stroke and a heart attack. She spent most of her days in her Birchwood Manor apartment resting, and was visited by a caregiver four days per week to help with housework, cooking, and errands. Magee said that a lot of her neighbors in Birchwood Manor depended on the close proximity to a grocery store. "So many people are disabled at Birchwood Manor and when Albertsons closed, it really hurt us," she said.

Gina Magee grocery shops with her caregiver Tammy at WinCo Foods. Though the grocery store is about a mile away from her home, it was too far for her to take her motorized wheelchair and be able to shop by herself.

Gina Magee rallies with the Birchwood Food Desert Fighters at the former site of Albertson’s on May 7, 2019. The group’s goal is to demand that a grocery store move back in to the Birchwood neighborhood.

Gina Magee moves from her wheelchair to her caregiver's car to go to the grocery store.

Before leaving for the store, Gina Magee's caregiver Tammy checks the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry and makes a grocery list of what is needed.

When Albertsons closed three years ago, a non-compete clause was put in place to prevent other grocery stores from moving into that shopping center. Gina Magee joined the Birchwood Food Desert Fighters to demand that a grocery store move back into the Birchwood neighborhood. "It is just hard," she said. "This is hard on everybody."

How this immigrant farmer in Kent is reconnecting to her agrarian roots

Veronica Karanja, originally from Kenya, grew up farming and learned from her mother. “It was our livelihood,” she says. “What we eat, what we sell.” She now farms her own vegetables through the Living Well Kent farm, and grows several traditional Kenyan vegetables that aren’t found in nearby grocery stores, including Kahurura. “I just want my community to eat good food,” she says. Her homemade meals include her own crops like Kahurura and Managu, and Ugali, an African porridge dish made from corn flour. Karanja grows all of the vegetables she cooks with. “I don’t buy outside food,” she says. “One thing I am very happy about is I am able to plant my own food. I bring it to my kitchen, I cook, we eat, it is good.”

Veronica Karanja, originally from Kenya, harvests vegetables at the Living Well Kent farm, where she grows her own crops, on July 6, 2019. She grew up farming and learned from her mother. “It was our livelihood,” she says. “What we eat, what we sell.”

Veronica Karanja hugs Nyema Clark as she tends to her vegetables on the Living Well Kent farm on June 13, 2019. Clark is the Farm Coordinator for Living Well Kent, a farming collective focused on better access to healthy foods through farming.

Veronica Karanja in her Puyallup home as she waits for dinner to finish cooking on Feb. 12, 2020.

Veronica Karanja washes freshly harvested kahurura, a traditional Kenyan vegetable, before taking it to a community farmers market to sell on July 6, 2019. She grows several traditional Kenyan vegetables in her garden that aren’t found in nearby grocery stores. “I just want my community to eat good food,” she says.

With family members waiting at the table, Veronica Karanja serves the dinner she has prepared in her Puyallup home on Feb. 12, 2020. Her homemade meal includes managu, a Kenyan vegetable that she grew on her farm, and ugali, an African porridge dish made from corn flour. Karanja grows all of the vegetables she cooks with. “I don’t buy outside food,” she says. “One thing I am very happy about is I am able to plant my own food. I bring it to my kitchen, I cook, we eat, it is good.”

Veronica Karanja takes a moment to herself as she tends to her crops on the Living Well Kent farm on June 13, 2019. “Some other people don’t like farming. But I love farming with my whole heart,” she says.

Veronica Karanja, left and Fitina John of Auburn laugh together as they help each other bundle their vegetables at a community farmers market in Kent on July 6, 2019. The pair had just met that day at the Living Well Kent farm, where they both grow crops, and learned they both speak Swahili. They spent the morning speaking in their shared language and laughing as they prepared their crops to sell. “We are friends now,” Karanja says. “It is much better to help someone than do it alone.”