Advocating For Farmworker Communities During COVID-19
Our Alianza Nacional de Campesinas is committed to raising the visibility of our essential farmworking women, men and communities working in the agricultural sector. On top of the harsh conditions faced by this essential workforce, the COVID-19 pandemic has left farmworkers exposed and in great need. Read about these needs and public policy demands necessary to protect those who feed our nation.
As Infections Spike, Alianza Launches a $500,000
COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund
With Labor-Intensive Harvests on the Horizon, Advocates Sound Alarm
June 9th, 2020
(Oxnard, CA.) – COVID-19 contagion among farmworker communities from Arizona to Florida is increasing at an alarming rate, according to recent news reports, raising concern among advocates and organizers regarding additional challenges that upcoming harvests and hurricane season will have on this especially vulnerable group of essential workers.
“With more testing in place, our worst fears are being realized,” said Mily Trevino-Sauceda, Executive Director of Alianza Nacional de Campesinas. “COVID-19 is spreading and immediate action is needed. As a result, we are announcing a COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund, with the goal of raising $500,000 to support the health and safety of farmworkers and their families.”
The Fund will support efforts for farmworkers and their families to stay safe, help slow the spread of the virus and cope with economic hardships created by this health crisis. It will provide resources for each of Alianza’s 15 member organizations, which are already working at the grassroots level to provide food, assistance with rent, utilities, internet access, hygiene products and protective equipment, among other basic needs.
Organizers with Alianza report another disturbing trend: misleading or inaccurate information is circulating among workers, causing them to not always follow recommended safety practices. According to Treviño-Sauceda, the Emergency Fund will also be used to support an intensified public education campaign to be carried out digitally and in all states where their member organizations operate.
“Not only must we assist in providing needed medical services, health and hygiene products, and financial assistance to families, most of whom are ineligible for unemployment insurance or social services, but it is equally imperative that we share basic information about the virus and best prevention strategies to communities where Spanish and indigenous languages are spoken,” she added. For more information on the Fund, please contact us.
Farmworkers have always been essential workers
Read our Executive Director’s Op-Ed in USA Today and our COVID-19 Statement of Needs & Demands in Response to this Pandemic
