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La Corua's avatar

Thanks, as always, for such an important piece. As SNAP benefits (mine included) have dried up, hunger becomes a weapon for submission. It’s one of the most effective strategies there are. Organizing networks on the ground will help with the most vulnerable.

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Pablo De La Rosa's avatar

Thanks for reading. You're right about networks on the ground because food banks are in no way prepared to make up such a large gap. And I think its a matter of reaching out to the people around you, friends, neighbors to check and see if people have what they need and try to help or try to figure out who can.

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La Corua's avatar
4hEdited

I’m a retired Alinsyite - I worked in proximity to Ernesto Cortes for years, I believe he co-founded Texas IAF? Valley Interfaith would be the Rio Grande Valley affiliate. My career path was here in Arizona, primarily with Pima County Interfaith (PCIC) and affiliates around the state. I was their behind-the-scenes queen of stuff! Over 13 years I learned SO MUCH… It’s a treasure of a lifetime. There is nothing on earth like face-to-face organizing. It is “slow and respectful work”.

https://www.texasiaf.org/

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Joseph Nevins's avatar

Articles such as this one is a key reason why I greatly value The Border Chronicle. It reminds us that the border is, among other things, a region where people live, work, and struggle, while illuminating important and rarely discussed (at least in national media) matters.

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Pablo De La Rosa's avatar

Thank you so much, Joseph. I started working with Melissa and Todd coming from NPR because they really care about the stories we're telling here in our own region and other parts of the border. Good editors who can work with you on border stories from their platforms and let the story really come through are very few and far between. Thanks for reading. More to come on this.

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Algo Mas's avatar

Gotta love Ruby Red Grapefruit.

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Melissa del Bosque's avatar

Once you've had Ruby Red grapefruit, you can never go back :-)

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Terence M. Garrett, PhD's avatar

When we lived in McAllen (for 12 years) before moving to eastern Cameron County, we had a Rio Star grapefruit tree (https://karenlovescountry.com/2018/02/12/the-sweet-spot-for-rio-star-grapefruit/) (along with a Marshall orange, sour orange, 2 Mexican lime trees, 2 papaya trees, and a bunch of Honduran banana trees). We miss all of that!

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Pablo De La Rosa's avatar

Still love stopping by at any orchard like this. Great photos, thanks for sharing!

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Pablo De La Rosa's avatar

There's something very special about this region. We're very blessed in many ways. Saludos!

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Terence M. Garrett, PhD's avatar

This is an important subject that rarely gets stories told nowadays due to the emphasis in the RGV for SpaceX, LNGs, and agri-business by the Rio Grande Guardian, The Monitor, and the Brownsville Herald, among others. Corporate news rules the media. Thanks for this page that examines what the people are doing in the region to alleviate a severe problem.

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Pablo De La Rosa's avatar

Hey, Terence. Thanks so much for reading. Saludos from the Rio Grande Valley! More to come on these stories.

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Marilyn Majalca's avatar

Thanks for this important story.

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Pablo De La Rosa's avatar

Thanks for reading, Marilyn. More to come.

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Maggie's avatar

As in so many other parts of the country - big corporate entities & billionaires. The whole spaceX crew is a large part of that. Somehow, there has to be a way to stop them. I know, that sounds very naive on my part and, I guess it is. But at this point, my faith in voting and elections is a little shaky.

Really great article. Anyone on the East Coast has NO idea about this issue, and we all should.

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