Felix Vargas was raised on a farm in central Mexico. He came to the United States as a teenage migrant farmworker, later becoming a crew boss for migrant farmworkers in North Carolina before becoming a farmer. Thirty-five years after arriving to this country, he became a U.S. citizen.
He also fulfilled his childhood dream of becoming a farmer. As a kid in Mexico, Felix once told his father, “I’m going to buy me a tractor.”
Jicama, chayote and passion fruit are more likely to be found in the aisles of a Hispanic neighborhood tienda than the farmers market in North Carolina. Yet Felix plants the traditional Latin American crops on the 75-acre farm in Cleveland County, North Carolina, where he and his wife also grow strawberries, blueberries and other vegetables. He will also process some of the fruit into sugar-free jam for diabetic customers.
Thank you, Felix. Today we celebrate your success in realizing your dream!
Watch the video below, created for RAFI by Storymine Media, to learn more about Felix’s story.
Vargas Farms from RAFI-USA on Vimeo.
To nominate your favorite farmer or food hero for RAFI’s 30 Days of Thanks, click here.
Follow along every day at rafiusa.org/30daysofthanks