{"id":14562,"date":"2021-03-25T10:00:59","date_gmt":"2021-03-25T17:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/calcanstaging.kinsta.cloud\/?p=14562"},"modified":"2021-03-24T13:49:13","modified_gmt":"2021-03-24T20:49:13","slug":"an-equitable-and-resilient-californian-food-system-protecting-our-essential-farmworkers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/calclimateag.org\/es\/an-equitable-and-resilient-californian-food-system-protecting-our-essential-farmworkers\/","title":{"rendered":"An Equitable and Resilient Californian Food System: Protecting our Essential Farmworkers"},"content":{"rendered":"

AB 125, the Equitable Economic Recovery, Healthy Food Access, Climate Resilient Farms and Worker Protection Bond Act\u00a0(Rivas, AD 30), invests in 4 pillars of the food system: sustainable agricultural solutions to the climate crisis, \u00a0farmworker safety and well-being, combating hunger and increasing healthy food access, and regional food economies. We will share more details about each pillar in this blog series, this first installment discusses the investments in farmworker safety and wellbeing. Read more about AB 125 <\/em>aqu\u00ed<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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This week is National Farmworker Awareness Week<\/a>, a week to honor the work and vital contributions of California\u2019s farmworkers and raise up the persistent\u00a0 challenges farmworkers face. Farmworkers are essential frontline workers for our food system and are disproportionately impacted by crises \u2013 both public health and climate.<\/p>\n

During the pandemic, farmworkers have risked their health by working in the fields through both a public health crisis and record-breaking wildfires. One study<\/a> found that Monterey County farmworkers were three times more likely to contract the coronavirus compared to other workers in the county. Needed personal protective equipment (PPE), like N95 masks, already in short supply for protection against the coronavirus, were even harder to come by<\/a> when wildfires season hit early.<\/p>\n

Farmworkers face these safety challenges in the field and at home. \u00a0A 2018 study<\/a> found that 67 percent of farmworker households experienced severe overcrowding in the Salinas and Pajaro Valley. This overcrowded housing compounds coronavirus stressors<\/a> as it makes self-isolate after exposure to the coronavirus even more challenging, if not impossible.<\/p>\n

While the pandemic highlighted the enormous and disparate challenges farmworkers face, these are not new issues and in the case of housing in particular, models do exist. Established in 2015, a zero net energy affordable housing project in Woodland, CA provides housing exclusively for farmworkers<\/a>. More farmworker housing development<\/a> is underway in different areas of the state, but more is needed.<\/p>\n

AB 125 to Invest in Essential Workers<\/h2>\n

As we shared last week<\/a>, AB 125 is a $3 billion bond to build back a more resilient and equitable food and farm system that would protect and house our essential workers. Introduced by Assembly Agriculture Committee Chair, Assemblymember Robert Rivas (D \u2013 Hollister), AB 125 would put a bond before the voters on the 2022 ballot that would include $637 million in investments in the safety and wellbeing of California farmworkers.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cThe pandemic has exposed the ongoing vulnerability of our farmworker communities, especially indigenous immigrants who are so critical for growing and harvesting food for California and the nation, \u201c says Sarait Martinez, Executive Director, Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Ind\u00edgena Oaxaque\u00f1o (CBDIO). \u201cTo take care of everyone, we need to take care of our farmworkers, and this bill will go a long way by providing them with safe housing, workplace protections and move us closer to a more resilient and equitable food system.\u201d CBDIO<\/a> supports Indigenous immigrant farmworker communities and is one of the co-sponsors of AB 125<\/p>\n

AB 125 would provide critical investments in affordable housing for farmworker families, funding for stockpiling PPE for workers, and investments in existing farmworker housing to improve indoor air quality and better connect farmworker housing with services.<\/p>\n

Specifically, the bond includes:<\/p>\n