Food Justice | CATA Farmworkers

FOOD JUSTICE - JUSTICIA ALIMENTARIA

Have an Impact

We believe that food is a basic human

right and that everyone should have the

right and access to healthy, organic, culturally-appropriate food that comes from fair and sustainable means of production.

Sé un agente de cambio

Creemos que la alimentación es un derecho

humano básico y que todos deben tener el

derecho y el acceso a alimentos saludables, orgánicos y culturalmente apropiados que provengan de medios de producción justos y sostenibles.

In the Food Justice Program, we fight for a more just food system – an alternative that values workers’ rights and is not dependent on the use of fossil fuels, pesticides, and exploitation.

We have Organic Community Gardens in NJ, PA, and MD which provide the space for people to: Grow their own food, practice working cooperatively in a group, reclaim sustainable agricultural knowledge, and build food sovereignty in their communities.

We provide education on Agro-ecology and Herbal Medicines. Members learn how to identify native plants and what their medicinal properties are and share their home herbal remedies with others.

CATA is also a founding member of the Agricultural Justice Project and helped to create the Food Justice Certification, a set of high-bar standards that when met create a just and fair food system for all.

En el Programa de Justicia Alimentaria, luchamos por un sistema alimentario más justo, una alternativa que valora los derechos de los trabajadores y no depende del uso de combustibles fósiles, pesticidas y explotación.

Tenemos Huertos Comunitarios Organicos en NJ, PA y MD que brindan el espacio para que las personas: Cultiven sus propios alimentos, practiquen el trabajo cooperativo en grupo, recuperen el conocimiento agrícola sostenible y construyan la soberanía alimentaria en sus comunidades.

Brindamos educación sobre agroecología y medicamentos a base de hierbas. Los miembros aprenden a identificar las plantas nativas y cuáles son sus propiedades medicinales, y comparten sus remedios herbales caseros con otros.

CATA también es miembro fundador del Proyecto de Justicia Agrícola y ayudó a crear la Certificación de Justicia Alimentaria, un conjunto de estándares de alto nivel que, cuando se cumplen, crean un sistema alimentario justo y equitativo para todos.

CATA’S Youth Food Justice Crew

This spring CATA is launching a new program as part of our Food Sovereignty Work. We will be employing high school aged youth 14-19 years old in CATA's Community Garden in Bridgeton, NJ to begin training our next generation of food justice activists!

The Food Justice Internship Program lasts 12 weeks, from March to June 2021.

Any questions or for more information, please reach out to CATA's Food Justice Coordinator, Kathia Ramirez at

*Photo Credit: SFF Immersion 2019

Donate to CATA's Bridgeton Organic Community Garden

This year, we were able to start a weekly market at our community garden. Your donations will be used to build an established infrastructure to provide this for our community in the coming years. We also plan on providing more culturally appropriated crops, so the funds raised will be used to purchase some of those plants and seeds.

Additionally, we hope to start a CSA- Community Based Agriculture program where we include a kit of crops that people can use to make meals. If we are to receive additional money, we plan to replicate this in the two other sites where we have community gardens.

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FOOD JUSTICE ARTICLES

Panning out with Kathia Ramirez to build a U.S. food movement

Farm work is the most dangerous and lowest-paid occupation in the whole country. “Farmworkers labor long hours to earn more money,” Kathia says, “despite the toll it takes on their bodies, which can later lead to long-term illnesses. Common health risks are work-related musculoskeletal disorders and exposure to pesticides.”

Seeking an American Dream in Farm Country

Low pay, long hours, and unsafe working conditions mean the opportunity and security that migrant farmworkers seek often remains out of reach.

Through Her Eyes: The Struggle for Food Sovereignty

This publication honors and amplifies the voices of women around the world who are fighting for food sovereignty and creating just, sustainable communities that benefit all.

The People’s Agroecology Process: Unlocking Our Power Through Agroecology

This publication summarizes the overarching framework, practices and experiences of the protagonists of the People’s Agroecology Process.

El Sueño Americano ― The American Dream

Food Justice Coordinator Kathia Ramirez shares her perspective on the journey of immigrant farmworkers pursuing the American dream and shares why food justice is important on every level.

Community Garden Cultivates Organic Produce for Bridgeton’s Farmworkers

The Bridgeton Organic Community Garden, founded in 2012, is a key part of a strategy by one grassroots organization to ensure that the region’s farmworkers have affordable access to fresh produce for themselves and their families.

U.S Food Sovereignty Alliance - Our Story

Food sovereignty is the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agricultural systems (Nyéléni 2007).

En La Lucha No Hay Fronteras (In the Struggle There Are No Borders)

By Kathia Ramirez
Organizer, CATA (Comite de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agricolas/ The Farmworkers’ Support Committee)

Closing The Hunger Gap: from Charity to Justice

At the Closing the Hunger Gap conference in 2015, more than 500 food access organizations representing 41 different states and Canada came together to call for a strategic shift from charity to justice in our collective approach to ending hunger. This is their story, presented by WhyHunger

Watch the Video