Originally Posted: July 21, 2022
By: Suzanne Potter
Florida farmworkers are getting some much-needed
support thanks to a grant from the Health,
Environment, Agriculture, Labor Food Alliance (HEAL).
The grant of more than $4,000 is being used to distribute food, host vaccine
clinics, and help families pay their bills.
Neza Xiuhtecutli, general coordinator and executive director of the Farmworkers Association of Florida,
said many farmworker families were ineligible for federal assistance during the
pandemic, so the need is great.
"We are helping them with direct assistance to help them pay for rent and
some of their utilities," Xiuhtecutli outlined. "We are also helping
with buying food and passing it among some of the neediest families."
The Farmworkers Association of Florida represents 10,000 members, and about
6,000 families have reached out to seek help. The Association's ongoing
COVID-19 response also includes assistance filling out applications for SNAP,
Medicaid and unemployment, distribution of personal protective equipment, and
COVID-19 education.
Navina Khanna, executive director of the HEAL Food Alliance, said they are
giving out $52,000 in rapid-response grants to food justice organizations
targeting communities of color.
"We were seeing that to go through a whole funding process is often very,
very cumbersome in terms of an application and reporting requirements and
things like that," Khanna noted. "And that by creating a pool of
funds and getting that out to our communities, our communities could do what
they need to do."
The grants are designed to be flexible and can be used as needs arise. They
have benefited eight grassroots, BIPOC-led organizations across the country.
Content for this Post is provided by Florida News
Connection, a Bureau of Public News Service.
Public News Service is a member of the The Trust Project.
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