Farmworkers keep Oregonians fed, but often struggle to put food on their own tables

The first time the workers from Mano a Mano Family Center ventured to a Polk County labor camp to deliver food boxes to farmworkers, one man declined and wanted nothing to do with the organization. 

However, a few visits later, he shared with them how his negative experience applying for federal food benefits dissuaded him from accepting help, and how the nonprofit’s food distribution program to farmworkers changed his outlook. 

Mano a Mano, a Mid-Valley organization that supports Latino families, is one of several nonprofits in the area addressing food insecurity among agricultural workers.

While their work puts food on tables across the nation, farmworkers’ low wages, long work hours without overtime pay and often rural locations can make it challenging for them to feed their own families.

And some workers’ exclusion from or hesitation to access most federal government benefits can compound that food insecurity. 

“Even though people are cultivating the food we all eat, they can’t afford the same foods themselves,” Ana Peña, a community health worker at Mano a Mano, said. 

Struggles to access food

The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines “food security” as access to enough food at all times for an active, healthy life. In 2020, 10.5% of all U.S. households were food insecure, according to the USDA. 

Regional studies in California, North Carolina and other states have found that about 45% of farmworkers interviewed are food insecure at various points of the year. 

Stephanie Grutzmacher, an Oregon State University professor who studies food insecurity, said the USDA’s definition and scale for measuring food insecurity may not capture farmworkers’ full experiences. 

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In her research conducting interviews with farm and orchard workers in the Columbia River Gorge, she noted they tended to downplay the severity of food insecurity, even as they described food shortages. Workers often said others were more vulnerable than they were and were hesitant to use food safety net resources so as not to take from those who they perceived as needing them more, she said. 

Food insecurity for farmworkers usually doesn’t mean starvation, but rather limiting their dietary diversity, Grutzmacher said. 

At the two Salem food banks Mano a Mano operates, many clients shared they were farmworkers, Peña said, which prompted the organization to focus its food outreach to farmworkers. Earlier this year, it received a grant for a mobile distribution project to take food boxes directly to work sites. 

Food insecurity reflects broader issues

Food insecurity reflects broader issues related to agricultural workers’ wages, health, housing, working conditions and more, said Megan Patton-López, a Western Oregon University professor of public health whose research interests include access to healthy food.

The average salary of a farmworker is between $20,000 and $24,999, according to the National Agricultural Workers’ Survey. 

“Looking at the quality of housing that farmworkers have access to, they may not have functioning or adequate kitchen spaces,” Patton-López said. “They have so many other things they’re focused on and dealing with. The food budget is usually the first thing that gets cut when they need extra money for an emergency.” 

Addressing food issues would require addressing issues like the lack of a path to citizenship and its associated benefits for the estimated 37% of farmworkers who lack work authorization, and remedying historic exclusions from protective labor laws like growers’ exemptions from being required to pay farmworkers overtime, Peña said. 

Undocumented people are eligible for WIC benefits, but ineligible for federal SNAP food benefits. But if they have U.S.-born children, their children can access SNAP benefits. Accessing food banks also does not affect people's immigration status. 

The Trump Administration’s expansion of the “public charge” rule, which sought to prevent immigrants who used public programs from obtaining temporary or permanent visas, and many people’s subsequent confusion around how enrolling for benefits would impact their eligibility for legal residency or citizenship also dissuades farmworkers from accessing public benefits for their children, Patton-López said. Trump's expansion of the rule was dropped by the Biden Administration. 

Meeting the needs of workers

When Gabriella Peña began managing the Woodburn AWARE food bank in 2018, there was no farmworker outreach program. She saw a need to build trust with and ensure community members understood the food bank was open to all. 

With the support of outreach workers from farmworker-serving nonprofits and a state agency, the food bank developed a program in 2019 running from April - November each year that sets up mobile food pantries at farms and farmworker housing. 

The food bank has also received grants for its farmworker outreach, which helps it purchase culturally appropriate foods clients will enjoy, she said. 

They have had to be mindful in making clear the food bank is not a government agency among a population sometimes wary of trhe federal government. They clearly indicated on Spanish flyers when the distributions would happen so farmworkers would know to expect them. 

“We made sure to meet with the property owners or the contractor to make sure this was sustainable. We didn’t just want our clients to receive a one-time food drop,” Peña said. “That took intentional thought to make sure we were making contact with everybody.” 

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AWARE’s mobile distribution program has reached about 250 families this year, and the food bank remains open from December to March, Peña said. It has also distributed information about COVID-19 and personal protective equipment to farmworkers throughout the pandemic.

“We’ve always understood there’s discrepancies in the ways our farmworkers are served or are able to access services, but when COVID hit, we saw so many,” Peña said. “They were the last that were thought of when it came to six-foot social distance, to needing to have PPE, to needing paid time off if their family members got sick. COVID had a way of highlighting that in a different way than we had anticipated.” 

Farmworkers’ long work hours and often working in areas far from town means some food banks are not open by the time their workdays end, Ana Peña from Mano a Mano said. Rural areas may also have few easily accessible grocery stores, and workers' refrigerator and storage space may be limited, she added. 

A grant the organization received earlier this year allowed it to purchase a refrigerated truck so food boxes stay fresh and they can drive farther to more rural areas. 

At a recent distribution event at a Christmas tree farm in rural Polk County, Mano a Mano delivered food boxes with dry goods, produce and meat to about 25 workers. 

“It’s a big help,” Eduardo Martinez, who is starting his fourth season in the Christmas tree industry, said in Spanish. “It means we can save money on lunch.” 

Peña and her team coordinate at least two visits a month to fields or labor housing. The mobile distribution project also reaches temporary guest workers in the U.S. through the H-2A program, whose dependence on one employer who must provide housing, transportation and food can make it challenging for them to venture into the community. 

Between the mobile distribution project, two food banks and field navigators, the organization’s food programs reach about 500 families per week, she said. 

Finding culturally appropriate foods

Mano a Mano and AWARE have prioritized finding culturally appropriate foods for both the food banks and food boxes.

For example, they try to provide Maseca so people can make tortillas at home and cooking oil so they can make meals from scratch, Ana Peña said. 

“There are a lot of items that we would receive that when folks would come in and have a shopping-style experience at our pantry, they would have a lot of questions about it, like ‘What is this, how do you cook this?’ and they weren’t comfortable in trying the food,” she said. 

Ultimately, conversations with clients at food pantries can be a step toward community organizations building trust and encouraging people to reach out for other support, Peña said.

“You can really get to know someone in a few minutes, and it’s all because you were brought together over food,” she said. “I hope with that one positive experience that they can continue to trust us and count on us that we will be here for them.”

How to help

The Marion Polk Food Share supports Mano a Mano and AWARE Food Bank. Donate time, funds or food to Marion Polk Food Share, AWARE Food Bank or Mano a Mano: 

• Marion Polk Food Share: Visit marionpolkfoodshare.org, drop items at 1660 Salem Industrial Drive NE in Salem, or call 503-581-3855.
• AWARE Food Bank: Visit awarefoodbank.org, drop items at 154 Harrison St. in Woodburn, or call  503-981-5828.
• Mano a Mano: Visit manoamanofc.org; drop items at 3850 Portland Road NE, second floor, Suite #130 in northeast Salem or 2921 Saddle Club St. SE Suite #1009 in southeast Salem; or call 503-315-2290. 

Dora Totoian covers agricultural workers through Report for America, a program that aims to support local journalism and democracy by reporting on under-covered issues and communities.  

You can reach her at dtotoian@statesmanjournal.com