FUERZA Farmworkers’ Fund
(2020 - Present)

Founded in 2020, at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, by Juan, Gabe Oñate, Karen Valenzuela Bermúdez, and Maria Clara de Greiff, this farmworkers’ fund began by supporting dairy farmworkers in Vermont and New Hampshire with essential and language-appropriate education, information, and resources to protect themselves against COVID-19 at a time when farmworkers were left behind in health conversations. Since its inception, it has raised over $35,000 to directly support farmworkers. It has expanded nationally, partnered with many nonprofit organizations, and now also supports women’s entrepreneurship and new and expecting mothers. In 2024, it won the Martin Luther King Jr. Social Justice Award for its work. You can check out the book Hands that Speak: Voices from the Upper Valley Dairy Farms here!

As part of his work with FUERZA, Juan helped secure their first grant for $5,000 under the White River Resilience Hub titled Increasing Latinx Farmworker Sovereignty and Environmental Resilience through Cultural and Ethnic Regenerative Gardens, a food sovereignty project that supported Upper Valley area immigrant farmworkers with access to needed services and on-farm regenerative gardens that address our climate crisis. As part of the grant, Juan created regenerative agriculture resources in Spanish and helped over 10 farmworkers plant more than 5 gardens centering on culturally appropriate foods with regenerative practices. Juan currently serves as an advisor to the Fund.