Nov 17, 2020

Farmworker assistance gets $3M boost after Ventura County demand rises

The Ventura County, California, Board of Supervisors approved $3.65 million to provide financial assistance to farmworkers during the coronavirus pandemic after seeing high demand for the Farmworker Household Assistance Program.

The program, approved Nov. 10, will provide one-time grants of $1,000 for low-income farmworker families who were financially impacted by COVID-19. Many of Ventura County’s farmworkers are undocumented and thus ineligible for assistance programs like unemployment or federal stimulus checks. 

According to the VC Start news outlet, the Board initially approved the program in September, with plans of funding the program through a combination of private donations and the county’s General Fund. The Ventura County Community Foundation is accepting donations through the Farmworker Household Assistance Program Fund, and the county initially planned on matching the donated amount up to $250,000.

But the number of applications exceeded expectations, with 4,000 people applying before the application period closed on Sept. 30.