California Cantaloupe Farmers Begin Vaccinations for Essential Workforce
Thanks to the quick work of our cantaloupe farmers and packers, essential workers employed throughout the California cantaloupe industry were among some of the first front-line food workers to receive COVID vaccines in California.
A series of drive-thru vaccination events were held at cantaloupe packing operations near Firebaugh California February 8th – 11th. Over 800 willing arms that work hard to pick, pack and cultivate cantaloupe were able to get vaccinated.
California grows about 75 percent of the fresh cantaloupe consumed in the U.S. Firebaugh is located in Fresno County, which is the leading agricultural county in California and produces most of the state’s cantaloupe. Cantaloupes are 100 percent hand harvested and packed, meaning farmworkers play a vital role in getting cantaloupes from the field to consumers tables.
“We’re so thankful to be able to offer our workers these life-saving vaccines,” said Garrett Patricio of Westside Produce Company, a cantaloupe harvesting, packing and shipping company located in Firebaugh, California. “Farmworkers are just one of the many groups who need and want to be vaccinated and we urge federal and state leaders to get more shots in more arms of more workers as quickly as possible.”
This event was possible thanks to the teamwork of Patricio, California Secretary of Food Agriculture Karen Ross, local health care provider Valley Health Team, the Fresno County Department of Public Health and the Fresno Ag Commissioner’s office.
In addition to Westside Produce, other cantaloupe companies instrumental in securing vaccines for their workers include Del Bosque Enterprises, R&N Packing Company and Toma-Tek Firebaugh.
“As soon as we learned an opportunity might exist to have our employees vaccinated, we jumped at it,” stressed Patricio. “Unfortunately, vaccines for essential front-line workers throughout the food industry – along with seniors, teachers and others — are extremely limited in California. We knew that if we missed this chance, we might not have the opportunity again for many, many months. The situation is dire and we do hope solutions that allow more people to be vaccinated will be coming soon.”
According to Patricio, vaccinations at a majority of the county’s cantaloupe farming operations were made possible by quickly reaching out to local government officials and securing an approved health provider. “It was critically important that Valley Health, which has a clinic here in Firebaugh, was already an approved provider for the vaccine,” he said. “We are just so fortunate to have pulled this off.”
“I was very happy that me and my husband got the chance to get the vaccine shot. It was very organized and I was glad we stayed in our cars,” says Maricela Gonzalez, who works packing asparagus and cantaloupe for Turlock Fruit Company.
“We’re offering vaccines to any of our employees who wish to receive them, but we’re not requiring anyone to do so,” said Patricio. “Most workers are anxious to be protected from COVID by getting vaccinated, but not everyone has agreed to receive it.”
Patricio explains this means cantaloupe farmers will need to continue enforcing safety measures put in place during last season’s harvest to make sure workers are protected. The cantaloupe industry was able to get by with relatively few COVID outbreak incidents last year, but it’s been a challenge for everyone. Vaccines will go a long way to help reduce risk among workers.
“This is why it’s just so critically important that we get more vaccines,” he said. “Protecting our essential workforce is a top priority for us all.”
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