Mayra Velazquez de Leon is the President and CEO of Organics Unlimited, a family-run organic banana business. Banana cultivation is a family tradition, with an emphasis on natural, organic methods that protect our environment. Mayra remembers fondly that her grandfather would water their crops using water from the river that flowed through their farm. Her father carried on that tradition of respect for natural resources, and in 1972 initiated a partnership to import the first commercially grown organic bananas into the US.

Growing customers and community

Mayra explains, “Our mission is to provide the best quality organic bananas and tropical fruits in a socially responsible way. Alongside quality stands our commitment to serving customers and the community.” Organics Unlimited is dedicated to organic farming using sustainable methods not only for the health of the workers and the consumers, but also for the health of the environment. Mayra continues, “Growing organic gives us the ability to sustain the land on which we grow our produce. Without the addition of chemicals, the land can continue to raise wholesome, delicious produce year after year, without the threat of destroying nature’s balance.”
 

In 2005, Mayra created the Giving Resources and Opportunities to Workers Fund (GROW), a Donor Advised Fund managed by the International Community Foundation, to provide funding for various social responsibility programs. This includes programs that help improve the quality of life of farmers and communities where Organics Unlimited is located. GROW also provides funding for organizations that share the objective of preserving natural resources and creating healthy environments for our future generations.

Sustainability on both sides of the border

In 2016, Mayra attended Environmental Health Coalition’s Awards Celebration One People, Una Frontera, and discovered our shared values for sustainability. EHC is the only binational organization fighting for clean air and a healthy environment in the region, thus our mission and values naturally aligned with those of GROW. Since then, GROW has supported EHC on sustainability projects on both sides of the border, such as advocating for renewable energy and mass transit in San Diego and protecting the Alamar River region in Tijuana.

Your donation makes twice the impact with GROW

This year, we are happy to announce that in addition to our sustainability partnership, GROW is offering match challenge throughout December. “EHC works relentlessly to protect our communities and fight for clean air, so I hope this match will inspire new supporters to join their efforts or give more to EHC,” anticipates Mayra. GROW and an anonymous donor have set a challenge to match $25,000 in donations.
 

For the month of December, know that your donation will make twice the impact. Together, we can raise up to $50,000 for environmental justice in our communities.
 

To learn more about GROW and their social responsibility program, visit Organics Unlimited’s website.

Both starting and ending in the United States, the Arroyo Alamar (Alamar River) is an example of a U.S-Mexico shared ecosystem. The river is born east of San Diego in Campo, as a network of creeks and springs that join the Tecate Creek south of the border, and travels west through Tijuana and the community of Chilpancingo, it crosses back north and makes its way to the Tijuana River Estuary in Imperial Beach, and into the ocean.

Most of the river in Tijuana has been destroyed and covered by concrete. The Arroyo Alamar is the only stretch of the river where the natural habitat remains and where ducks, owls, raccoons, cranes, woodpeckers and crawfish can be found. The Arroyo Alamar helps clean the air and is one of the few open green spaces left in Tijuana where residents can enjoy nature and wildlife.

EHC is working to preserve this threatened pocket of natural habitat by hosting tours into the river to educate youth, through the recently launched “Cuaderno de Actividades del Guardián del Alamar” (Guardian of the Alamar Activities Booklet), and by working with Mexican authorities to have the Arroyo Alamar be declared a natural protected area.

To learn more about the Arroyo Alamar, please click here, and to learn more about EHC’s binational work, please click here, or contact Anibal Mendez at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

For over a decade, Environmental Health Coalition (EHC) has worked with residents in Old Town National City to address food insecurity. Responding to an EHC community survey in 2005, residents were already voicing their concerns about the lack of affordable healthy food in OTNC and its impact on their daily lives. Their struggle for food access has been acknowledged at the federal level by the United States Department of Agriculture that designated Old Town National City as a “food desert”; defined as a part of the country vapid of fresh fruit, vegetables, and other healthy whole foods¹. Residents of National City are suffering and dying from preventable diseases that are a result of poor nutrition and lack of access to healthy food. Within National City, there are approximately twice as many fast food and convenience stores as there are general grocery and fruit and vegetable markets². Over 50% of children in the National School District are overweight or obese³, and National City residents have the highest rate of heart attacks in all San Diego County⁴.

In response to this severe community health crisis, residents have been working with city officials to find community driven solutions. Community members have identified the inclusion of a community garden in the Paradise Creek Park plan design as a solution to help increase physical activity and food access.

EHC will continue to work diligently to ensure that National City residents remain in the planning process and that their neighborhood transitions from a toxic to a healthy one . Follow EHC on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates on the Paradise Creek Park community garden and contact Sandy Naranjo, National City Policy Advocate, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for ways to get involved.

¹  American Nutrition Association. USDA Defines Food Deserts. http://americannutritionassociation.org/newsletter/usda-defines-food-deserts
²  National City, National City General Plan (2011), 227. http://www.nationalcityca.gov/home/showdocument?id=5217
³  San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative, State of Childhood Obesity in San Diego County (2016), 7. https://sdcoi.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/stateofchildhoodobesity-sdcountyfinal1.pdf
⁴  Schroeder, Lauryn “Coronado has Good Hearth Health, National City Much Less So. Find Your Community on Interactive Map. http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/data-watch/sd-me-cardiovascular-rate-20180209-story.html. July 23, 2018.

Justice for our communities begins with your voice. When we vote we are united, and when we are united we are powerful.

Remember to vote on Tuesday, June 5, 2018. Use our voter guide below to vote for environmental justice and advance the policies that will build #healthyhoods for our families.

• For all voters: Vote NO on Proposition 70
  Preserve funding for affordable housing and better transportation in our communities.
  
  
• For National City voters: Vote NO on B
  Don't repeal voter-approved term limits for the Mayor of National City.
  
  
• For National City voters: Vote YES on C
  Retain voter-approved term limits for the Mayor of National City and create term limits for the National City Council. 

For more information on statewide ballot measures, please click here.

To learn more about EHC's civic engagement work, please click here or contact Jorge Gonzalez at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

We have a vision. We bring our voices to the polls to ensure that vision prevails, to resist oppression and to engage in the most powerful demonstration of our collective strength as communities of color.

Thank you for joining us on April 19 to celebrate our dedication to civic engagement and shifting the culture of voting at our 2018 Annual Awards Celebration: United to Vote.

We kicked off #UnitedToVote with an intimate conversation with Mustafa Santiago Ali, senior VP of the Hip Hop Caucus, former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) senior advisor for environmental justice and our environmental justice champion awardee.

Mustafa spoke about the necessity for action to achieve environmental justice and the power we have when we come together. He reminisced about his young days as environmental justice was just beginning to earn attention at the national level and how the movement has grown to become more important than ever. 

"Our vote translates into power, and sometimes we forget that," he told us.

Afterward we were joined by more than 400 of our allies in the environmental justice and civic engagement movement. With our incredible keynote speaker Senator Toni Atkins, President pro Tempore and San Diego City Councilwoman Georgette Gomez, we recognized our 2018 awardees:

• Mustafa Santiago Ali - Environmental Justice Champion Award
• Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher - Spirit of Justice Award
• National City Councilwoman Alejandra Sotelo-Solis - Spirit of Justice Award
• National City Councilwoman Mona Rios - Spirit of Justice Award
• California Environmental Justice Alliance - Building Power Award
• Engage San Diego - Building Power Award

Twitter buzzed with #UnitedToVote inspiration throughout the evening as our guests chronicled their favorite moments. 

It will take all of us to change the culture of voting. Thank you for helping us celebrate the trailblazers at the local, state and national level championing environmental justice and the right of all people to have a safe and healthy place to live work and play. 

See you next year!