Maria Morales Farm Destroyed During CA Floods

My name is Maria Morales and I am a small, sustainable farmer and business owner in the Central Coast region of California.

On January 9th, my family and I left our 15-acre farm in Gilroy to go get gas for our truck after spending a full day in the fields. Shortly after departing, I received a call from my nephew that our house and the surrounding areas were flooding. A creek on one of the hills surrounding my farm had overflowed, a result of the ongoing California winter storms. Within 30 minutes and without any warning, our entire home was flooded almost to the ceiling of the first floor with water and debris.

Now, my family and I are without a home and our business is destroyed. Because of the flood, we have lost almost everything from our home (food, clothing, furniture, personal care items) and our small business (income, farm equipment, seeds, inputs). I ask for your support of me, my husband Juan, our three children, and our nephew as we navigate this devastating crisis and rebuild.

As a family-owned farm, Juan and I have been running our mixed vegetable and berry operation, JM Farmers Organic, since 2016. I spent many years as a farmworker before completing an incubator program that helped me realize my dream of launching my own business. After not being able to sustain ourselves on farmworker wages, Juan and I were driven to provide a better quality of life for us and our children. We have overcome numerous barriers, including a three-year search for land, and relied on our own skills and expertise to reach this point in our business.

With no other family in the area and the farm as our only source of income, my family and I and our farm have no safety net to navigate this crisis. Please be a part of the safety net that we need right now by donating what you can.