California’s agricultural industry would collapse without farmworkers, but these same workers can’t find safe, affordable housing in the state
Farmworkers—who are essential to California’s multibillion-dollar agricultural industry—can’t find safe, affordable housing in the state, according to Civil Eats. The outlet talked with workers like Rosalia Martinez, who says she finds it “unbearable” to live in a small, converted garage with her husband and their three young children. “It’s a single room without privacy and the rent—$1,350 a month—is a lot more than the farmworker family can afford.” Farmworkers earn an average annual pay of $20,500, while struggling to find housing in one of the most expensive states in the country. Last year, Governor Gavin Newsom did announce that California would invest over $30 million in upgrading its 24 migrant housing centers, and the governor committed $100 million for the construction and rehabilitation of permanent farmworker housing. —Tina Vasquez
