Shelter Partnership Supports Hard-Working Farm Workers

Farm workers are invisible to many, yet we rely on them to pick the produce we eat. The work can be grueling and relentless—working on the hottest and coldest days, rain or shine. Long hours and low pay leave most farmers struggling to support their families. It is a daily challenge for them to purchase essential items needed to survive.

Shelter Partnership’s S. Mark Taper Foundation Shelter Resource Bank warehouse program has partnered with The Salvation Army Santa Maria Corps to provide much-needed product donations to these often-forgotten members of our community.

“It is a blessing that Shelter Partnership provides these donations. Many of the workers have children and it is very expensive to buy clothing for a family, especially with 5-6 children,” states Major Vera Villanea, Corps Officer, The Salvation Army.

New clothing, shoes, blankets, socks, and many other items have been distributed to vulnerable populations in the Santa Maria-area thanks to the generous support of Shelter Partnership product donors.

“It is a tremendous blessing to us to receive these items for our families especially now in this time that we do not have work. We have been farmworkers for 20 years now and have experienced that in August through April, the amount of work we have is very little making a great burden on us economically,” farmworkers Alejandro and Guadalupe Luna state. “So, it is refreshing to know and be able to count on that we can receive clothing. We have also been able to share with our coworkers out in the fields clothing and jackets, during this time when the mornings are especially cold.”

Shelter Partnership would like to thank all of the farm workers who provide our food and our donors who make it possible for Shelter Partnership to reach the most vulnerable people amongst us.

If you would like to donate new and unused products, contact Senior Director of Product Donations Jennifer Marquez at jmarquez@shelterpartnership.org.