Flood relief for farmworkers just a trickle of the need, say advocates

Teresa Romero felt sad that it comes down to organizations like the United Farm Workers to provide help to this Merced County community whose farmworker population has been hard hit by recent flooding.

“You know, it is very sad that we have to step up again and again,” said the United Farm Workers president while about two dozen volunteers provided boxes of food and others took applications for a $600 debit card for qualified residents at César E. Chávez Middle School on Sunday (March 26).

“When we marched last year, I remember thinking, ‘This is shameful that 56 years later we continue to march to bring attention to the needs of our workers,” Romero said. “That should not happen.

“These are people that are essential workers. They’re professionals. They are the ones that are putting food on our tables every single day. They were working during the pandemic when it’s cold, when it’s hot, when there’s a fire. How much more can we ask of these people?”

The food distribution and debit card signup came a month after heavy rain caused a break on a levee along Miles Creek and allowed escaping water to flood streets, businesses and homes in the unincorporated community of about 4,000.

While Romero was explaining the qualifications for a debit card to help with COVID relief inside the school library, José sat on the base of a light post hoping to get some help.

“There is no work. And since everything is flooded, there is no work,” said José, who preferred to only use his first name. “Right now, we are waiting to see if something is fixed so that we can get back to work.”

José, 62, and others like him would normally be pruning the many vineyards that make grapes a $90 million-plus crop in the county. He hasn’t worked in 15 days, and has to find a way to provide for his family of three. His wife works in the fields and a packing house, but there has been no work for her, either.

To make matters worse, the rain ruined the roof on his porch and must now be repaired. His house was spared because he replaced the roof last year.

José – a Planada resident since 1976 and originally from Yuriria, Guanajuato, México – also worries that it’s time to complete the operation on knees he injured two years ago.

Unlike more than 70% of farmworkers who are undocumented, José is a legal resident. But, he speaks mostly Spanish and has trouble finding resources available to him.

School provides support, space for displaced students

Ildefonso Nava, principal at César E. Chávez Middle School for 17 of the 20 years the school has been open, was among the volunteers. His school is providing classroom space for about 100 students from Planada Elementary School which is still fixing flood-damaged areas.

“It was devastating that we had the flood in January,” said Nava. “A good chunk of our community works in ag-related work, so anytime agriculture is impacted, our community is impacted.”

Nava said residents were displaced by the flooding, and some are in the process of getting back to their homes.

“If we can impact the home, then it impacts the children. That impacts our students,” said Nava.

Schools, said Nava, are “the hub of the community” and provide more than education and meals to its students. The school provides information to families, as well as social and emotional support, he said.

Mi Pueblo Foundation provided eight pallets of food – from lettuce and squash to Lunchable meals and spaghetti – for distribution in Planada.

“We give food to the farmworkers that are the ones who feed us,” said Carmelo Castañeda, founder and director of the foundation, which also provides legal help to farmworkers.

Castañeda, a law firm investigator, has worked for attorney Fernando Chávez and was 13 years old when he met farmworker leader César E. Chávez.

Among those sorting the bread, potatoes and other food for distribution were members of the César Chávez Lowrider Club. Club president Andrew Rodríguez, a maintenance mechanic who lives in Corcoran, said members want to help the workers who put food on the table.

“We’re not so worried about the storms right now, but all that snow in the mountains that will be melting in the summer and generate more flooding,” said Rodríguez.

$600 for COVID relief

The UFW worked with the USDA to provide the $600 for COVID relief to those who worked in the fields or packing houses, said Romero.

“In many cases, the programs that existed during the pandemic were excluded because they’re undocumented,” said Romero. “We are able to make sure that every farmworker, whatever their legal status, would benefit.”

The union, she added, is pushing cities, counties, the state and federal government to “be accountable for their cities and their people.”

“We cannot just leave it up to non-profit organizations or the UFW,” said Romero. “They have to step up and have to do something to help.”

Romero said farmworkers are “the backbone of agriculture.”

“If we don’t have them, we’re not going to have a secure food source,” she said. “So let’s treat them as human beings, as the important workers and essential workers that they are. Every county, every state and the federal government need to step up.”

Esta historia fue publicada originalmente el 28 de marzo de 2023, 11:14 a. m..