Farmers and Food Workers to Get $600 Relief as Part of $700M Stimulus Check

As part of the US Department of Agriculture's Build Back Better initiatives, millions of American workers will soon receive $600 relief cheques.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack launched the new Farmworkers and Food Workers Relief (FFWR) grant program earlier this month, allocating $700 million in competitive grant money to assist farm and food workers who have been affected by the COVID-19 epidemic. The award will be financed by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, which includes funding for minority-serving community development banking institutions.

State agencies, tribal entities, and charities are all required to apply for the FFWR award. They must also demonstrate that they can engage with hard-to-reach groups directly or via partnerships with local organizations.

Stimulus Grant

The grantees will be in charge of disbursing the funds to qualified farmworkers and meatpacking employees, who might earn up to $600 in reimbursement for expenditures associated with preparing for or preventing exposure to the COVID-19 epidemic.

The last time this happened was around six months ago, but the federal government has authorized and will begin paying out a new stimulus check to a specified population. This time, it's a one-time $600 payout to farmworkers and the meatpacking industry in the United States.

US Agriculture Secretary Vilsack announced this pandemic relief a few days ago as part of a more comprehensive $700 million effort to help the industry. A portion of the money, up to $20 million, would assist grocery shop employees.

Issuing Stimulus Cheques

Of course, this assistance comes while additional stimulus cheques continue to be issued. Such as the child tax credit payments, the third of which was mailed out on September 15. Those cheques are being distributed to a far larger number of people: parents with children who are eligible.

The September 15 check was the third in six monthly installments that would last until December. The remaining three checks in this series will be mailed on October 15, November 15, and December 15.

In the fall, the Department of Agriculture expects to begin accepting applications at www.grants.gov.

Assisting Farmers and Food Workers

In a news statement, Secretary Vilsack remarked, "They deserve recognition and financial assistance for their efforts to address personal and family needs while continuing to deliver critical services." He said, "Our award program is another component of this administration's efforts to guarantee that help to mitigate the consequences of the epidemic is given to those who need it most."

The USDA will also provide $20 million as part of the FFWR initiative for a trial program to assist front-line supermarket employees in defraying costs associated with the COVID-19 epidemic. Among these costs are purchasing personal protective equipment (PPE), dependent care, and fees related to COVID-19 testing or quarantine.

"As we celebrate the social and economic achievements of our country's workers on Labor Day, we recognize that our farmworkers, meatpackers, and grocery workers overcame unprecedented challenges and put their lives on the line to ensure Americans could feed and sustain their families throughout the pandemic," Vilsack said.

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