Mission Bite #149: The Spice of Life

Members of local farmworker families often volunteer and harvest food in the Misión Peniel garden managed by Cultivate Abundance in Immokalee, Florida.

Crops found in this garden, such as cilantro and jalapeño chilis, tend to be those high up on the preference list of our Hispanic neighbors. For example, chipilín is an indigenous vegetable added to tamales and other Mexican and Guatemalan dishes. And the leaves of corn and plantain bananas are often harvested for wrapping tamales. Even avocado leaves are used to flavor certain dishes.

In an agricultural community where farmworkers face livelihood challenges and more, this garden works towards the Biblical aspiration that the “last shall be the first” by honoring the food heritage of Immokalee’s Hispanic community.

Pray for the community-building effect of the Misión Peniel garden where local, nutrient-dense food is produced and shared.

- Rick Burnette, CBF field personnel serving in Florida