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The Small California Farm Town That Puts Kids First
Against All Odds, Gonzales—Population 9,000—Offers Services That Touch the Lives of All Its Young People
What if California actually decided to put the needs of its poor kids first? What would that look like?
Here's one answer: it might look like Gonzales, a small city of 9,000 people—many of them farmworkers—along Highway 101 in the Salinas Valley. The people of Gonzales don't have educational credentials (less than 10 percent of adults over 25 have a college degree) or wealth (the median income is less than $17,000 annually). But they do have one incredible resource: youth. Thirty-six percent of the population is under the age of 18, and about 1,000 of the 9,000 residents are under age five. More than 85 percent of the Gonzales Unified School District qualifies for free and reduced lunch.
Very much against the odds, Gonzales has relentlessly assembled a rich suite of supports and services that touch the lives of every young person in town, from pre-school through high school. Today Gonzales has so many different programs for youth—service programs, recreational programs, after-school programs, summer programs, job programs—that it is now the rare California city spending more on youth than on its fire department.
As Gov. Gavin Newsom seeks to deliver on his campaign promise of a new system to support children from the womb through the college dorm room, Gonzales should serve as inspiration—and a reminder that there are no good excuses for not doing more for California's kids.
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About City of Gonzales
The city of Gonzales, California is located in Monterey County. The quaint and culturally diverse community of approximately 9,000 people is in the heart of the Salinas Valley’s agricultural and wine region. Gonzales is an established regional leader in agricultural-technology and innovation, environmental awareness and sustainable practices. Gonzales is home to companies such as HealthySoil, which manufactures products to improve agricultural crop production; Converted Organics, a natural fertilizer company; Taylor Farms, a fresh vegetable production facility, Mann Packing/Del Monte Fresh, a leading supplier of fresh cut vegetables; Ramsay Highlander, an innovator, designer and manufacturer of technologically-advanced harvesting equipment; Papé Equipment Handling, Braga Fresh, Green Valley Farm Supply, Tessemae’s, American Bioscience, Caraccioli Cellars, and Constellation Brands, an international producer and marketer of beer, wine and spirits.