California, March 28, 2023

United Ways across California are committed to bridging the financial gaps many households are experiencing in today's economic climate. Our investment in this work helps advance equity and economic inclusion to alleviate some of the financial burdens California farmworkers are facing by providing cash support to households across the state.

We are proud to be working alongside 15 local United Ways across California, including the Central Valley, Central Coast, and Inland SoCal regions. Each of them is working to reach eligible farm and food worker households in effective ways to connect them to financial support.

Under grants from the USDA awarded last fall, United Ways is one of 10 organizations providing this assistance in California. Eligible farm and food workers do not have to have suffered storm loss to qualify, so long as they meet the program’s eligibility requirements.

Below is some information about the scope of the program and eligibility requirements, followed by information about how interested workers and households can start the process by texting us.

Financial support for Farm Workers and Food Workers: Participating local United Ways will distribute a one-time $600 relief payment to eligible farm workers, agricultural workers, and food processing workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Who Qualifies

• Frontline farm and food workers who worked in California at any given time, for at least one hour during the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020, until the pandemic has been declared over.
• Workers who were at least 13 at the time they worked.  
• Workers who can and will self-certify that they incurred expenses due to the pandemic, such as the purchase of masks, hand sanitizers, face shields, goggles, gloves, COVID tests, and/or childcare.
• Workers who can and will self-certify that they have not received this relief from another agency or organization.  

What is Required:

Applicants will need to provide proof of identification (note that proof of citizenship is not required) and proof of employment:

• Examples of some acceptable identification documents:
  • State Identification or Driver’s License
  • Consular or Government Issued Identification (Foreign or Domestic)
  • School Issued ID
• Examples of some employment documentation:
  • Paystubs
  • W-2 Tax Form
  • Employer Written Attestation

Target Areas:

The focus of our outreach is on counties served by the following local United Ways:

• United Way of Nevada County
• United Way of San Joaquin County
• United Way of Stanislaus County
• United Way of Merced County
• United Way Fresno and Madera Counties
• United Way of Tulare County
• Kings United Way
• United Way of Kern County
• United Way of Santa Cruz County
• United Way Monterey County
• United Way of San Luis Obispo County
• Northern Santa Barbara County United Way
• United Way of Ventura County
• Inland SoCal United Way
• United Way of Imperial County

How to start the process:

To start the application process, interested workers and households can text the keyword "FARMWORKER" or "FOODWORKER" in English or "CAMPESINO" or "CAMPESINA" in Spanish to 211-211.

United Ways across California are dedicated to helping those in need and will work with local partners to ensure timely payments to areas of the greatest need.

For more information on the program, please visit USDA's press release or this interactive map that shows which grantees are serving within which  California counties.

Contact:
Name: Marvin Andrade
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Phone: 877.355.8922 x 105

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