This week, we are proud to share episodes of California Foodways, the insanely ambitious series from KALW’s very own Lisa Morehouse. A decade ago, she began her quest to tell the story of California’s food and agriculture, and the people that make both possible. Her plan: to report from each of the state’s 58 counties. As she closes in on her goal, we figured it’s a good time to look back at some of the people she’s met and places she’s been.
In today’s episode, a trio of stories about the farmworkers who are the backbone of California agriculture.
- Lisa looks back at a farmworker strike that began 60 years ago in Kern County. This piece was originally released in 2015.
- Lisa heads to Monterey County to report on worker housing for the people picking crops like lettuce and strawberries in Salinas Valley. This piece was originally released in 2016.
- A story from 2018 about a former farmworker who co-owns a business cooking food from her native Oaxaca in Madera County.