NAMPA, Idaho — There are approximately 2.5 million farmworkers in the United States, and in 2019, in Idaho, the average number of agricultural workers per month was about 52,000.
Farmworkers are critical to the U.S. economy but despite being one of the most essential jobs for food security, they are among the lowest-paid workers which leaves many farmworkers struggling to find affordable housing.
"How do we house our farm workers? How do we safely and affordably house farm workers? That's a very important topic, " said Joaquin Altro, USDA Rural Housing Service Administrator.
On Monday afternoon, the Department of Agriculture Rural Housing Service held a roundtable to engage local stakeholders and Washington representatives on housing for local farm workers.
"And we are particularly interested in solutions here in Idaho because we know that Idaho is growing so quickly. We have such a need for affordable housing, housing solutions, and workforce housing," said Margaret Salazar, HUD Regional Administrator in the Northwest.
Despite farmworkers' long days and hours, one out of three farm-working families earns income below the federal poverty line. An average individual farmworker earns under $20,000 a year. With the cost of living in Idaho going up, farmworkers, like many Idahoans, are then forced to set aside most of their paycheck for housing.
The USDA addressed resources they can provide to Idaho and are working on a partnership to better serve local farm workers.
"Its the first time in many years that we have been able to obligate all of our dollars, so we are here now to speak to our partners and say we have programs that are aggressively priced that are here to help build farmworkers' housing in Idaho," Altro said.
During the round table, the USDA also announced $1 million in grants to the Community Council of Idaho for their Rigby Community Clinic, which helps serve the growing number of migrant and seasonal agricultural workers in the region.
