USDA Announces the 15 Organizations that will Administer the Farm and Food Workers Relief Grant Program | Agricultural Marketing Service
Summary
Organizations were selected for their proven track records working with farmworkers, meatpacking workers, and front-line grocery workers, their strong partnerships with worker-serving organizations, and their ability to provide services in critical geographic areas to collectively ensure nationwide coverage under this program.USDA is committed not only to acknowledging the work of our nations essential agricultural and food workers, but also ensuring they are not left out of opportunities for relief from the effects of the pandemic, said Secretary Vilsack. The grant recipients being announced today will help us provide relief payments to workers across the country who kept food moving to our families during an especially challenging time.The program, which is administered by USDAs Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), will use funding to provide relief to farmworkers and meatpacking workers who incurred pandemic-related health and safety costs. Funding is also set aside for three pilot programs to support grocery workers in recognition of their essential role in the pandemic response. If you are a worker seeking relief payment, please check the AMS FFWR webpage regularly for updates, including information about the organizations selected to distribute the direct relief payments for workers and their coverage areas.The relief provided through this program is intended to defray costs for reasonable and necessary personal, family, or living expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as costs for personal protective equipment (PPE), dependent care, and expenses associated with quarantines and testing related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The TA partners will provide grant recipients with a suite of branded educational materials and toolkits to use for consistent FFWR messaging and to simplify the application process for eligible workers.