Yaneli Hernandez-Tapia

Yaneli is a youth environmentalist, a farmer and a racial-justice activist. Yaneli grew up in Salem, Oregon, and learned to grow food at a young age while learning about food insecurity rates in her community. Working at the local nonprofit Youth Farm in Salem, Yaneli saw what the food system could be like. She cultivated a passion for creating access to local, fresh, nutritious food grown right in the community, especially for underrepresented people. Yaneli graduated from the University of Oregon in the middle of the pandemic. While there, she worked as an LGBTQ ally coordinator, a multicultural services coordinator and a coeducator to her peers on issues of gardening and food justice.