Hi, everyone, this is Alejandra, Food Empowerment Project’s (F.E.P.) communications team member. I’ve been with F.E.P. since 2022, and I just completed my third run of our School Supply Drive for the children of farm workers! It was an honor to be part of the event’s 10th year!
We are so grateful to everyone who donated, whether you’re a first-time supporter or a recurring donor of this event. Your contribution allows us to keep doing this every year. We were excited to give backpacks to farm worker families in our local community along the central coast in the San Luis Obispo area!
F.E.P.’s founder, lauren Ornelas, our vegan programs team member, jaz Boler, and I spent a weekend packing, cleaning, and organizing backpacks ranging from pre-K to 12th grade. After sorting through the bags, we packed them with color-coordinated folders, markers, rulers, notebooks, highlighters, and more.
Additionally, F.E.P. was able to connect with José Moreno Hernández, a former farm worker who is now an engineer and a retired NASA astronaut, who kindly sent in an encouraging quote to be included in each bag.
The quote reads, “Dream Big! ¡Se vale soñar en GRANDE! Échale Ganas!” Which translates to “Dream Big! It’s worth dreaming big! Go for it!”
Buckley Springs Storage in San Luis Obispo played an instrumental role in this year’s drive. They generously offered a discounted unit for us to pack with ease! We don’t know what we would’ve done without their help.
The backpacks were delivered to two different cities in California: Santa Maria and Paso Robles.
After 200 bags were packed, lauren, jaz, and I set off to the first location in Santa Maria. jaz and I had signs for the van, with one saying “School Supply Drive For The Children of Farm Workers 2024” and another saying “In Honor of Guadalupe Santa.” If you read last year’s blog post, you’d know we dedicated that year’s drive to my late grandma, who was my whole heart and was a rich tie to my Mexican heritage. I’m so grateful we continue to keep my grandma’s memory alive through this special event.
For the past several years, we’ve worked with Lizabeth Valdez, who works to protect the rights of farm workers. Though she couldn’t be with us in person, she sent out her incredible team to help us! We met with Paola, an amazing young Indigenous activist we worked with last year who speaks English, Spanish, and Mixtec.
As we began, it was so heartwarming to see the kids jump up and run over excitedly when they saw the backpacks. Seeing their big smiles and eagerness to open their bags with new supplies was everything and more. jaz felt the same way! She shared, “Whether it was their reaction to seeing their favorite character on a bookbag and being able to take it, digging through their bookbag to find a variety of school supplies and showing their siblings and parents, the shrieks of joy, or even the parents’ smile throughout the whole process, I left feeling so grateful.”
A big hit this year was Minions! Some other favorites were Pokémon, Minecraft, Frozen, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. As usual, the teenagers chose simpler options. We also had baby backpacks containing blank cards and markers. These were for the parents who leave their babies with a sitter while they work, and their little ones loved them!
Throughout the event, we reminded the children of how grateful we are for their parents and that this event is to help pave a better future for them and help them succeed.
lauren delivered the remaining 42 backpacks to the Paso Robles students soon after.
The students receiving bags in Paso Robles are farm workers and attend high school. It’s an important reminder that this event is for them to feel fully prepared for the school year ahead and know they can create a better future for themselves and their families.
Thank you to everyone who donated funds (especially those who donated more than once to ensure we reached our goal!), spread the word, and shared our posts. It meant so much to the farm workers’ families. Please enjoy these images and a video by our fantastic San Luis Obispo-based photographer, Mark Sanchez Santos.
Here’s to another successful School Supply Drive! I can’t wait for the next one.
