By: Ruben Estrada

From the indigenous communities in the modern day Southwest U.S., to the Braceros programs of the mid twentieth century, to the current production of food, Latinxs and people of Latinx descent have contributed greatly to the agriculture in the United States. According to the United States Census Bureau in 2011, 17.8% of people living in the U.S. are Hispanic or Latinx yet according to a Pew Research Center study conducted in 2017 33% of workers in the agricultural industry are immigrants, predominantly of a Latinx background. Out of any race/ethnicity, Latinxs have the greatest amount of workers in the agricultural industry in comparison with the total demographics of the United States. Unfortunately, working in the food industry does not always lead to food security. In fact, according to a study done by the Household Food Insecurity in the United States in 2011, 26.2% of Latinx households struggle with food security.

Issues like these are happening across the country, but also on a local level. According to a USDA Food Security Survey from 2011, at least 15% of Lane County’s citizens live in food insecurity. Feeding America created a study titled “Map the Meal Gap” in 2011 and determined that in Oregon, “208,000 Latinxs of the 450,000 living in the state of Oregon are food insecure.” These numbers show that Latinxs are disproportionately affected by food insecurity on a local level, while at the same time working in the agricultural industry at a higher rate than any other race/ethnicity. In a study done by the U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institute of Health titled “Food Insecurity and Risk of Poor Health Among U.S.-Born Children of Immigrants, the study finds that “Although 93% of children of immigrants are U.S. citizens and therefore eligible for federal assistance, such programs often do not reach these children, and as a result they are potentially vulnerable to food insecurity and poor health.” Clearly, a well thought out solution to this issue has yet to be introduced on a national level. At a local level, Lane County provides the opportunity to delve into these issues affecting children across the country and understand the causes as well as potential solutions.