"Getting back to work after being sick with Covid-19 might seem a very straightforward process for most of us. However, farmworkers and food packing workers must undergo a very different challenging experience. Not only do they struggle to get a covid test, as tests are scarce and pricey, but in most cases, they are obligated to report their condition to local health authorities to get a certificate to get the time off they need to recuperate. Obtaining this certificate is not always easy for migrant workers as English is their second language, and most of them don't know the steps they need to take to get one.

Even if offering covid-19 tests to our members on my patio was not in my plans for this year, the need was so imminent that I felt obligated to step up and do something about it. Local organizations that support migrant workers in Maryland, who were also aware of the need, like the Lower Shore Vulnerable Populations Task Force and the Centro de Los Derechos del Migrante, donated the COVID-19 test. I just needed to find an open space to distribute the kits. My house Patio was the best option I could find and allowed me to distribute the kits even on the weekends." Leila Borrero Krouse. Organizer/Immigration Specialist, Maryland Office

"Little did I know that we would have in total close to 57 different crops growing inside this 0.15-acre space throughout the year – a feat that didn’t seem possible before 2012, the year CATA officially gained ownership of the land.

Prior to the beloved “Huerto Communtario,” the space had been an abandoned lot littered with trash and construction debris. As if sick and underappreciated, the land looked like it had no purpose other than to live up to the “stigma” of Bridgeton, a community made up of mostly people of color and often falsely labeled by outsiders as impoverished and crime-ridden.

But thankfully, visionaries saw the complete opposite! A team of CATA staff and locals saw beyond the rubble and soda cans. They saw potential! From that moment, I knew there was no denying that with determination and some knowledge, ANYONE could grow ANYTHING in ANY SPACE!" Erika Perez, Food Justice Program Assistant 

In the United States and several other countries around the world, the month of February is recognized as Black History Month. This month we will share again three informative capsules created by CATA staff, which explore issues of racism, police brutality, and movements to invest in the needs of our Latino and Black communities. Each audio program, or Radio Capsula, is in Spanish and lasts 10-20 minutes.

The first Capsula, #1 on our Capsulas page, is about the history of the Black Lives Matter movement and introduces the topic of systemic racism.

The second Capsula, #4, is about the long history of racism in the agricultural industry and some of the shared experiences among black and Latino farmworkers.

The third Capsula, #7, is about the call to defund the police and the investments that we could make in our communities with those resources.

We invite you to check them out and share your thoughts with us! We hope that these capsules spark an interest in creating more solidarity with our neighbors and fellow Black people!