BY CHRISTIAN DE JESUS BETANCOURT

CV Journalism Collaborative

Elizabeth Ruiz followed in her parent's footsteps to join the work in the fields of Merced County’s westside during the pandemic when no other work options were available.

Her story echoes that of many in the area who, unable to find a job in town, turned to the fields for a paycheck. She, alongside her mother and father, know no other way of life, she said.

Ruiz, along with hundreds of other farm workers from the area, waited in a line braving the cold outside the Mercy Springs Church of the Nazarene on Dec. 14 at a Cultiva La Salud (CLS) event aimed at putting some money in their pockets. 

In an area set up in the back of the church, about a dozen volunteers sat with each worker individually for about seven minutes, explaining the intricacies of applying for The Farm and Food Worker Relief Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

The grant provides a one-time $600 payment for those who worked to feed American families during the pandemic. 

“Farmworkers didn't have the opportunity to stop working during the pandemic,” said CLS Program Director Claudia Gabriela Cochardo. “They had to continue feeding us without sick pay and vacation time.”

Part of a $670 million program funded through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, the grant has the purpose “to defray worker expenses incurred preparing for, preventing exposure to, and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to USDA documents.

Ruiz flashed back to her time in the field and the challenges a worldwide health crisis brought to an already backbreaking job.

“It was difficult because we had to wear the masks and sometimes bandanas over our faces,” she said, recalling picking cantaloupes while a machine would drive by and spray her with dry dirt. “I know fieldwork is super hard, and it’s really sad to see the older people working there for minimum wage.”

The money, Ruiz said, would help her family greatly since her parents are out of work, and it’s up to her and her sister to care for their family.

“It’ll help bring food to the table during the holidays,” she said. “Something extra is a big help for everyone.”

Further up the line, a group of four young laborers awaited their turn. One of them, Javier Romero, said he’s been working the fields all his life.

“Me meti al campo para ayudar a mi familia — I went to work in the field to help my family,” he said in Spanish. 

The group of friends, all originally from the Mexican state of Sinaloa, heard of the event through word of mouth. They endured the cold, hoping to receive some funds since work in the field had slowed down for the year.

“The money is going to help a lot, especially now that work is dead,” Romero said. “We probably won’t have steady work until January.”

With the end of the picking season, Romero said he would travel to various towns to try to get pruning work.

Efforts in Merced County

In Merced County, CLS was contracted to get at least 800 and up to 2,000 applications approved.

“We have an amazing group of promotoras (volunteers),” said Cochardo. “We’re bilingual.  We understand the culture and the community. Unfortunately, we only have 2,000 applications. There are way more people than that who deserve it.”

With agriculture as one of the more prominent employers in the area, Corchado says a large number of Merced County residents are farm workers.

The organization set up 12 clinics beginning in August, where about 200 applications were filled out at each event.

“Instead of people coming to us, we come to them because it's much easier,” Corchado said. “We've been in Los Banos, Livingston, Winton, and South Merced. We try to cover all the county, especially the smaller unincorporated communities.”

Once the applications are collected, the team at CLS begins their behind-the-scenes work of ensuring all applications are correctly filled out, a step Cochardo said helps maintain their 93% approval rate.

Those wanting to receive more information about upcoming clinics can fill out a form through CLS.

Grant details

Eligibility for the grant includes being a first-time applicant who incurred COVID-19 expenses during the pandemic and who worked tending, planting or harvesting crops from Jan. 27, 2020, to May 11, 2023. Those tending to livestock or milking cows are also eligible. No receipts for the expenses are required.

The prerequisites to apply are simple: each worker must show proof that they worked at least two and a half hours in a field working directly with food items by showing a pay stub or W-2 during the stated period; have some form of identification from any government agency including foreign entities; and a working cell phone to receive notifications.

The monies were awarded to 14 nonprofit organizations. United Ways of California, which contracted CLS, received almost $42 million to assist laborers.

The USDA does not accept applications directly from workers. Each person needs to apply through one of the agencies that received the grants.

— Christian De Jesus Betancourt is the bilingual communities reporter for Central Valley Journalism Collaborative, a nonprofit newsroom based in Merced