For many, the pandemic may be behind them, but for some essential workers the federal government today seeks to provide some relief and recognition for the role they played during the most challenging periods of the pandemic.
The United States Department of Agriculture launched the Farm and Food Relief Grant Program in 2023.
Guadelupe, a Belvidere resident, is a recipient of the USDA’s grant program.
She heard about the grants from her coworkers at the hog slaughterhouse in Marengo where she’s worked since the pandemic.
“Pues yo empaco huesos,” she said. “I pack up bones.”
The program gives farmworkers, meatpacking workers and some grocery store employees a one-time $600 payment if they worked during the pandemic.
When I asked how her experience was during the pandemic, she said at one point she tested positive and was sent home from work.
“La verdad muy mal por que cuando la personas salian positivo que pasaba los descansaba, bueno les decia que no podian trabajar dos semanas. Y no lo pagaban, no lo pagaban. Y verdad no afecto mucho a nosotros," she said.
“Honestly, really bad because when someone tested positive, they would be dismissed and told they couldn’t work for two weeks,” she said.“And they wouldn’t get paid during that time, and the truth is that it really had an impact on us,” she said.
Alexandra Sossa is the executive director of the Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project (FLAP).
She said there’s several reasons why this category of essential workers may not have qualified for the rounds of stimulus checks.
“They are undocumented, for example,” Sossa said, “or they are married to an undocumented person, and they do not have a legal status, or they do not qualify” Sossa said.
So, among those excluded from the relief dollars were the families of American-born children who had at least one parent undocumented. Those payments amounted to over three thousand dollars($3,200 dollars) in addition to additional money awarded per child of the tax filer.
She said the program recognizes the role essential workers played during the pandemic.
“They were in front of the line, saving lives, providing food for those who had the benefit to be working from home when they couldn't do it and they were exposed to COVID,” she said.
Several reports show that meatpacking workers were hit hard during the pandemic. A congressional study of the five largest meatpacking companies found that in the first year of the pandemic 269 workers died due to the coronavirus. A House subcommittee investigation revealed that leaders of the meatpacking industry lobbied to keep the plants open, despite the safety risks to workers.
“They were working shoulder to shoulder with other people, with other coworkers, they couldn't keep the social distance, that the news was talking about it because they were just working hard to produce the food for other people,” she said.
In order to qualify, the farm and food workers must have been on the job sometime between January 2020 and May 2023.
Qualifying workers will received the funding via a Visa gift card. The sum may appear not to amount to much,but Sossa said for these workers it's a great help.
“We are talking about a population which is making $20,000 a year, $15,000 a year and sustaining a family of four people,” Sossa said. “So, $600 is significant. $600 is what they will make in two weeks, for example. And the money is completely unrestricted.”
Sossa said the program ends in December, but they expect to run out of funds by the end of October.
“We have more demand than capacity to distribute the funds, unfortunately,” she said.
FLAP is one of several organizations accepting applications throughout the country. The USDA has set aside about 670 million dollars for the program.
Those interested in applying are cautioned to be aware of scams. There’s no cost to apply. Only designated organizations can accept applications, and in Illinois FLAP is the designated organization.
Sossa said folks don’t have to worry about whether applying for the grant would penalize them later in the future as a public charge. Officials under the Trump Administration stoked fear that if immigrants used services they qualify for such as at a food pantry, it would penalize them in their application for a change in legal status.
“This has nothing to do with immigration status or things like that,” Sossa said. “It's not going to affect them at all.”
She added the funding is exempt from being taxed.
"There is no restrictions about what they can do with that money, and they do not have to report it in their taxes,” Sossa said.
To apply, a qualifying worker must have an ID with their address and a pay stub or a tax documentation demonstrating they were employed at some point during the pandemic.
For more information, contact the Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project at 1-888-451-3527 or email at info@flapillinois.org.
