At Harvesters, we serve people from all different backgrounds, cultures and people groups. Food insecurity can happen to anyone, and for those whose primary language isn’t English, this can create an additional barrier to finding help. That’s why we are dedicated to having many of our resources available in Spanish, as well as a rotating group of Spanish Translation Team members who are on call to interpret when we have a neighbor whose primary language is Spanish.
“Struggling with food insecurity and reaching out for assistance is already difficult to begin with—a language barrier makes that process much more stressful and complicated,” says Cierra Howe, “It’s important to have Spanish-speaking staff members to make sure our Latino communities not only have access to vital resources, but that they also feel safe, valued and heard.”
As a member of the Communications team, Cierra Howe, translated our entire website into Spanish, and continually translates other materials such as handouts, press releases and articles.
“Part of my job involves going out into the community and collecting stories from our neighbors about their lived experiences with food insecurity,” Cierra says. “I was going car to car introducing myself, and I met a Spanish-speaking woman named Maria. At first, she declined the interview, but a few minutes later, she got out of her car and tracked me down. She said she wanted to share her story with me as a way of saying thank you for all of the support she has received from Harvesters. She was recently diagnosed with osteoporosis, her husband was the only person in the household working, and she also has a teenage daughter with autism who goes to weekly therapy—their medical bills were draining their savings and Harvesters’ distribution was feeding her family. Had I not been able to speak Spanish, Maria wouldn’t have gotten the chance to share her story. I’m happy I was able to help her do that.”
Francisco Hernandez, our SNAP Outreach Coordinator, spends a lot of his time helping Spanish-speaking families understand their eligibility to access SNAP benefits and assisting them with the complex application process.
“Almost every day, I can connect with families that call into our SNAP call center for assistance,” he says. “We can talk about the SNAP process and complete the application together, often making the process seamless and quick for neighbors. Neighbors feel comfortable asking more questions about the SNAP process and food locations when they are communicating with someone who can effortlessly communicate with them.”
Our Meal Connect Coordinator, Jetzel Chavira, echoes this sentiment.
“It is important to have Spanish-speaking staff because it helps with accessibility – so people can access the same resources as anybody else and be able to talk with someone directly who speaks their language. If they can speak to someone who understands them, that builds trust and makes them feel included.”
Our Spanish Translation Team also includes Lupe Aragonez, our National Food Sourcing Manager. Because he is bilingual, he comes in clutch not only sourcing food from the U.S. and Canada, but product we import directly from Mexico as well.
Our goal, no matter what department they interact with, is to make sure everyone who comes to Harvesters for assistance feels seen, heard and helped.
