PPE Supplies

As the whole world seemed to be shutting down, agriculture was deemed essential.  

Farmers in the county were still to go about their business as normal, but with many safety practices in place.  I knew there was one group of individuals that would be difficult to reach, our migrant/seasonal farm workers.  As they began to arrive in the county PPE supplies were still in HIGH demand and SHORT supply.  

As I was able to break some of the PPE supplies free from other sources, I made farm visits.  As events and our COVID rules changed, I made follow up visits to deliver more information in Spanish to alert the workers of their responsibility to remain safe and protect those that they meet as well.    

I packed bags for the houses with signage, face masks, hand sanitizer, a prepackaged snack and a list of phone numbers they could call if they needed help with any health issues.   I made it to 13 houses, approximately 130 men, before I started running low on supplies.   The workers were in the field, as it was that time of year.  I dropped the bags off in the field in their vehicle.  The next day I started receiving texts to thank me for the supplies.  

Each week the workers go to their respective banks to cash their checks.  The bank employees have reported that of out of all their customers that come through the banks, the workers cashing their checks follow COVID guidelines better than anyone.  They wear their masks, they social distance, and they use the hand sanitizer on their way in and out of the bank.  Farmers across the county even remarked that they always wear their masks.  We have found more resources to get masks for them in 2021 when they begin to arrive.  

As the shortage continued for PPE, I contacted the few tobacco producers that I knew personally that were not going to be raising tobacco in 2020.  Each tobacco farmer was given a couple boxes of PPE (jackets to wear in cutting and housing tobacco) for the workers in past years.  I knew these few farmers were not going to be using them, so I contacted them, they were glad to donate them to the local hospital.   I planned a drop off site here at the office, then a couple days later the hospital contact stopped by and picked them up and they were so grateful.  If we could have found more that were not going to be used, we would have had a home for them with the hospital staff.  However, those still in tobacco production would not let their disposable jackets go, their workers needed them to finish out the year, which is also a huge success.