Many things have changed since COVID-19 reached Santa Barbara County in March 2020, but one thing remains constant – whether you are driving from Carpinteria to Goleta, along the 246, or up the 101 towards Santa Maria, farmworkers can be seen out in the fields tending to and harvesting our food. These essential workers, many of whom are migrant Latinx and Indigenous peoples, are the workforce behind our county’s $2.8 billion agricultural industry. They are also disproportionately affected by COVID-19.
As infections peaked in July, nearly 20 percent of COVID-19 cases in Santa Maria affected farmworkers. When looking closely at the working and living conditions of our county’s essential farmworkers, it is no surprise that COVID-19 is so prevalent among this group. While stay-at-home orders were issued across California in March, workers in Santa Barbara County and throughout the state continued to work in the fields, often shoulder to shoulder and without face masks or adequate sanitation facilities. Overcrowded and dilapidated housing conditions, lack of COVID-19 information in Spanish or Mixtec, lack of access to health care or health insurance, and low wages are all significant factors that affect the mental and physical health of farmworkers, putting them at greater risk of contracting and spreading the virus.
The Latinx & Indigenous Migrant COVID-19 Response Task Force is working to address these issues and ensure the health and safety of farmworkers in North County. The Task Force was created in March 2020, just as coronavirus reached Santa Barbara County, and is a bi-weekly convening between more than 90 organizations, including the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department and community based organizations like Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP) and Central Coast Alliance United for Sustainable Economy (CAUSE).