From home gardener to farmer: 'United I know we can achieve so much more'
“The first moment that I started to plant a seed here in Oregon, it was something exciting because in my country, I did it with my parents when I was little. It is a culture that one already carries in the heart, in the blood—one where you are accustomed to growing your own food,” said Maxi Hernández.
That memory and tradition became the foundation of her farm, Mr. Farms — also known as Maxi Reyes Farms — where she now grows fresh food with a mission. “Here we are, working hard to be able to feed our community and our families,” she said.
Maxi's passion grew during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when grocery store shelves were bare. “What inspired me to launch myself into a project bigger than a community garden was seeing the need in the community, especially when COVID happened—when all the stores were empty,” Maxi said. “We didn’t have vegetables anywhere. During that time, I had a small garden which thankfully to that garden, my family and I were able to survive. We were also able to share with neighbors, going door to door, offering small bags of vegetables from my garden.”
As she shared food, Maxi also noticed that many families had limited access to fresh produce. “What I noticed in the community was that we received a lot of canned food. Within Latino culture, we like to eat fresh produce, especially if they are freshly cut and have those fresh smells. I noticed we were lacking this. People sometimes said, ‘no, we don’t eat the canned food’— so food was being wasted as well,” she said. “It challenged me to begin something meaningful to help feed the community,” said Maxi.
Food insecurity affects nearly 14 million Latinos in the United States. Out of the 47.4 million people facing hunger nationwide, Latino communities experience some of the highest barriers to fresh, healthy food — challenges that can vary widely depending on immigration status, length of time in the U.S. and country of origin.
Those challenges pushed Maxi to connect with Oregon Food Bank, a Feeding America partner food bank. “The connection with Oregon Food Bank was through a program that I was working with in an organization called Guerreras Latinas,” she said. “That was where I began to have more connection with Oregon Food Bank and the work they were doing. I became an ambassador of Oregon Food Bank, and we have been collaborating since then.”
The support has been vital to Mr. Farms. “It is an honor and a big thank-you to Feeding America and Oregon Food Bank because thanks to those resources, we can feed many families, especially now that all the prices are up,” Maxi said. “Families with minimum-wage work can have a difficult time obtaining all the benefits of healthy food, especially if they have children. We want to help in this.”
Farming has reshaped her family life, too. “As a mother, it is something great because it is an honor to be able to harvest and serve fresh vegetables to my children on their plates so that they have healthy nutrition,” she said. “It is a joy. An emotion. A full heart.”
And it changed her personally. “The experience that I have gone through has changed me and my family,” Maxi said. “Before I worked in a restaurant. I was happy working there, but I did not feel the passion that I feel now when I grow food for others. I have been transformed into a farmer.”
Now in her third year of farming, she is determined to keep growing. “I have always said I would like to grow as a business, not just a family business, but also to be able to employ other people to grow more vegetables,” she said. “The community is big. And although I always say my community, it includes everyone. Everyone is part of the community because we all have to eat.”
Her vision reflects Feeding America’s mission of ending hunger. “In my own words, I say that no human being should go hungry and that we all have the right to have food on our tables,” Maxi said. “That is the motivation that pushes me to keep fighting and to continue working for that. I know that united we can achieve this and so much more.”