"Letty Martinez, Shiny Flanary and Xochitl Garnica spent the spring and summer taming weeds and planting crops on their new 2-acre urban farming collective, which offers free produce to low-income customers. Now, they're hoping to add a greenhouse and lighting powered by solar panels.

"We're really off the grid," Garnica says. "So, all of that will really help us a lot, so we can help the community that really needs fresh produce."

These aren't typical Oregon farmers, more than 96 percent of whom are white.

To expand their farm, they're planning to apply for a grant through the Portland Clean Energy Fund — a first-of-its-kind climate action program that prioritizes people of color and those with low income."

Cassandra Profita reports for OPB/NPR November 21, 2020. [2]