We’ve been following the struggles and successes of farmers in our region. A new focus on organic, locally grown food has led to a boom in farmstand and ‘foodie’ culture. But the hard economic realities of milk production in the region has meant the closures of hundreds of farms over the last decade.
That’s hit Vermont especially hard. But there’s another problem that’s not as easy to see from the outside: the people who do the hard work on those farms often aren’t able to get food easily. That food insecurity is a problem with many causes – but immigration policy is at the center.
A new book by the University of Vermont Professor Teresa Mares dives into this issue. It’s called Life on the Other Border: Farmworkers and Food Justice in Vermont. We speak with Mares about her research.