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Labor department responds to farmworker housing crisis

Michigan and New York are among the states to receive funding for improved access to safe, sanitary housing.

Jennifer Kiel, Editor, Michigan Farmer and Ohio Farmer

May 9, 2024

2 Min Read
Farmers harvesting spinach in a field
HOUSING GRANTS: The U.S. Department of Labor recently allocated $6.5 million in grants — without requiring matching dollars — to help organizations improve their delivery of safe and sanitary housing solutions for migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their dependents. JackF/Getty Images

Employers in Michigan’s $104 billion food and agriculture sector are increasingly looking beyond U.S. borders for workers, as evidenced by the number of H-2A visa applications in the state increasing 157% in the past five years and quadrupling in the past decade.

Part of that agreement, nationwide, includes providing housing for those workers, which is not readily available. It’s a growing problem for Michigan, New York and 10 other states that the U.S. Department of Labor has identified with the highest estimated number of eligible migrant and seasonal farmworkers.

The labor department recently responded with a $6.5 million commitment to award grants — without requiring matching dollars — to help organizations improve their delivery of safe and sanitary housing solutions for migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their dependents in those 12 states, which also include Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, North Carolina, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Texas and Washington

Applications must be submitted electronically by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time June 28.

The program is administered by the department’s Employment and Training Administration, and the National Farmworker Jobs Program expects to fund eight awards from $500,000 to $1.5 million each.

To be eligible, an entity must have:

  • an understanding of the problems of eligible migrant and seasonal farmworkers, including their dependents

  • a familiarity with the agricultural industries and the labor market needs of the proposed service area

  • the ability to demonstrate a capacity to administer and deliver a diversified program of workforce investment activities, including youth workforce investment activities and related assistance for eligible migrant and seasonal farmworkers

Authorized by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, the funding will connect eligible migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their dependents to permanent and temporary housing. At least 70% of the funds will go toward permanent housing. The period of performance is 51 months and starts July 1 and ends Sept. 30, 2028.

Successful applicants must understand farmworkers’ needs, enabling them to propose projects that improve access to safe and sanitary housing services that help workers and their dependents achieve their educational and career goals and promote economic mobility.

Learn more about the National Farmworker Jobs Program Housing Services funding opportunity and apply.

Read more about:

LaborHuman Resources

About the Author

Jennifer Kiel

Editor, Michigan Farmer and Ohio Farmer

Jennifer was hired as editor of Michigan Farmer in 2003, and in 2015, she began serving a dual role as editor of Michigan Farmer and Ohio Farmer. Both those publications are now online only, while the print version is American Agriculturist, which covers Michigan, Ohio, the Northeast and the mid-Atlantic. She is the co-editor with Chris Torres.

Prior to joining Farm Progress, she served three years as the manager of communications and development for the American Farmland Trust Central Great Lakes Regional Office in Michigan, and as director of communications with the Michigan Agri-Business Association. Previously, she was the communications manager at Michigan Farm Bureau's state headquarters. She also lists 10 years of experience at six different daily and weekly Michigan newspapers on her resume.

She has been a member of American Agricultural Editors’ Association (now Agricultural Communicators Network) since 2003. She has won numerous writing and photography awards through that organization, which named her a Master Writer in 2006 and Writer of Merit in 2017.

She is a board member for the Michigan 4-H Foundation, Clinton County Conservation District and Barn Believers.

Jennifer and her husband, Chris, live in St. Johns, Mich., and collectively have five grown children and four grandchildren.

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