Maria Anaya

My name is Maria Anaya and I grew up in East Palo Alto. Currently, I work for an education non-profit in Oakland. I am very excited to be a part of Collective Roots and I am thrilled to reconnect to the community in East Palo Alto.

It wasn't until my experience teaching in a middle school that I realized the tremendous impact that fresh food accessibility and health and nutrition programs have on children and their families. Day after day I would see my students come into class without having had a breakfast and instead filling their stomachs with unhealthy snacks. Not only was this damaging to their health but it also resulted in their inability to stay focused and engaged in class. As a teacher, I made it a point to have fresh fruit in my classroom as often as I could to offer to my students.

Growing up, my family would always have to drive outside of East Palo Alto to go grocery shopping or to go to a farmers market. I am so happy to help continue the success of East Palo Alto's own farmer's market and look forward to supporting food systems change within East Palo Alto.

My dad loves gardening and each year he would harvest various fruits and vegetables for us to enjoy. I have always hoped to have my own garden and still look forward to that day. In the meantime, I am eager to learn more about gardening and work on our beautiful garden. I hope to one day see every school have garden-based educational programs where all students have access to fresh food and healthy living programs.