Personal Protective Equipment for Minoritized U.S. Agricultural Farmworkers: Community-Based Efforts during the Pandemic & Implications for Extension

There are an estimated 2 million farmworkers who are essential to the food system in the United States; however, they are exposed to hazardous environmental conditions with limited access and/or use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The primary purpose of this research is to evaluate community-based organizational efforts to provide farmworkers with apparel-textile basic needs, such as face masks. A primary goal is to address the research gap regarding common environmental factors that impact farmworkers, including pesticides and the pandemic, their use of available PPE, and community-based efforts to improve access to face masks as basic PPE. We consider the intersections of race, ethnicity, class, gender, and immigration status to contribute to intersectional agriculture discourses. We used secondary data from GuideStar to identify fifteen highly transparent farmworker-serving non-profit organizations and conducted a content analysis of their websites and social media. Seven of the organizations were identified as highly collaborative, having provided face masks, food, and health services to linguistically and ethnically diverse farmworkers. This research contributes to emerging discussions about intersectional agriculture to address health disparities experienced among farmworkers and can be useful to Extension in seeking to address health and wellness to reduce disparities.