Building Healthy Communities from the Ground up

Be a Healthy Hood Hero: Join Rodrigo Romo and support AB 1330!

“This is a problem that not only affects me, but future generations to come.  I would love to leave a better and healthier community for the next generations to come, not a community that will be carrying a big burden in their health.”

 Rodrigo lives in Shafter, one of California’s toxic hotspots. We have less than 48 HOURS to join Rodrigo Romo in the fight to transform overburdened communities like Shafter into thriving communities – California legislature must pass all bills by THURSDAY Sept 12th!

Click here to send an email to our Senators telling them to support AB 1330, the Environmental Justice Act!

Read more about the bill here.

As member organization Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment, who works in Shafter, explains: Shafter, CA is a small town of 17,000 in Kern County, about 18 miles northwest of Bakersfield. Despite the heavy presence of agriculture in Shafter much of the community–29% of whom live below the poverty line–does not have access to healthy, fresh and organic produce. This motivated the community to spend two years gathering resources, building their skills and readying four acres for their own community garden. On April 6, 2013 the Committee for a Better Shafter and CRPE broke ground on the Shafter Community Garden. This is the second community garden established as a part of CRPE’s program–the first is in Arvin and two more are being developed in Greensfield and Wasco.

Rodrigo’s Story: Shafter has long been impacted by different issues such as a high usage of pesticides around our neighborhoods, and a toxic site were prior it used to be a factory of pesticides that has contaminated our land. The toxic site that used to belong to Brown and Bryant is a major disaster in our community. In this site, farmers used to mix all their pesticides and chemicals for their farms.  As time progressed these chemicals started sinking into the ground, and pretty soon they will be getting into our drinking water.

The most frustrating part of this, is the fact that companies like Brown and Bryant, keep operating even when we know the harm that they cause,  as community members we feel betray every time that these companies keep getting permits and permits renewals even when we have proofs of the harm they cause.

AB 1330 will help fund exciting projects like the Committee for a Better Arvin & CRPE community garden, as well as increase environmental penalties for bad actors like Brown and Bryant. Support AB 1330 today! AB 1330 Fact Sheet.

 .