Twenty farmworkers pick strawberries after eating their lunch in Watsonville, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. (Photo by David Rodriguez for The Californian.)
Three farmworkers bend down to pick strawberries early morning in Watsonville, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. (Photo by David Rodriguez for The Californian.)
Strawberry farmworkers are treated to a free lunch while also being provided tips on how to better care for themselves and their families when affected by COVID-19 by the Campesino Appreciation Caravan in Watsonville, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. The caravan is made up of community educators, families and young adults who have been coming to multiple fields in Watsonville to show their appreciation to the farmworkers since the middle of March. (Photo by David Rodriguez for The Californian.)
A man holding a blue chair walks to find himself a spot to eat his lunch after picking strawberries for most of the morning in Watsonville, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. (Photo by David Rodriguez for The Californian.)
Two farmworkers sit at a socially acceptable distance to eat their lunch as a wave farmworkers make their way to receive their free lunch and COVID-19 safety tips by the Campesino Appreciation Caravan in Watsonville, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. The caravan is made up of community educators, families and young adults who have been coming to multiple fields in Watsonville to show their appreciation to the farmworkers since the middle of March. (Photo by David Rodriguez for The Californian.)
Farmworkers line up for free empanadas during their lunch provided by the Campesino Appreciation Caravan in Watsonville, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. (Photo by David Rodriguez for The Californian.)
A man washes his hands before he sits down to eat his lunch after picking strawberries in Watsonville, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. (Photo by David Rodriguez for The Californian.)
Farmworkers are treated to a free lunch while also being provided with tips on how to better care for themselves and their families during the pandemic by the Campesino Appreciation Caravan in Watsonville, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. The caravan is made up of community educators, families and young adults who have been coming to multiple fields in Watsonville to show their appreciation to the farmworkers since the middle of March. (Photo by David Rodriguez for The Californian.)
A woman puts on gloves before she gets back to picking strawberries in Watsonville, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. (Photo by David Rodriguez for The Californian.)
Twenty farmworkers pick strawberries after eating their lunch in Watsonville, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. (Photo by David Rodriguez for The Californian.)
Listen as Krista Almanzan talks with Jessica Pasko about her reporting for Bay City News Foundation. Pasko has been covering some of the solutions to slow and stop the spread of COVID-19 among agricultural workers.
More audio files on this topic from Bay City News Foundation partners including the Race and Coronavirus podcast and bilingual station KBBF Radio 89.1 can be found here.
Eleazar Sosa, a vineyard manager in Greenfield, oversees a crew of about 20 who monitor the vines for disease, control irrigation and harvest the wine grapes in late summer. This year, he and his coworkers are also confronting a new challenge: the growing threat of coronavirus.
PSAs
Public service announcements have been developed by organizations in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties in English, Spanish and three indigenous languages: Mixteco, Zapoteca and Triqui. An estimated 30,000 people in Monterey County (not all in the agriculture community) speak indigenous languages.
Natividad Medical Center led the creation of the PSAs for Monterey County and beyond. In Santa Cruz County, members of the Watsonville Campesino Appreciation Caravan worked with officials in the city of Watsonville and the county to create them. The bulk of Santa Cruz County’s COVID-19 cases have been in Watsonville so far.