FORT MYERS (Florida) NEWS-PRESS

January 15, 2010

Southwest Florida farmworkers lose work after cold spell

By JANINE ZEITLIN

 At the front of the line snaking around Guadalupe Social Services in Immokalee this morning was Josefina Antunez.

The weary-eyed 59-year-old arrived around 5 a.m. after being turned down for work picking tomatoes.

“There’s no work,” she said, wearing grass-stained sneakers and clothes. “We don’t have anything, not even for the rent.”

This week’s freeze caused an estimated $100 million-plus in vegetable crop damage alone in Southwest Florida. Thousands of workers in those fields across the state will likely face millions in lost wages due to the loss, worker advocates say.

“The people who make $10,000 a year and living on the margin day to day are going to have a very tough next 60 to 90 days,” said Rob Williams, director of the Migrant Farmworker Justice Project.

For farmworkers, many who entered the country illegally, filing for unemployment or other government help such as food stamps is not an option.

Food stamps are only available to U.S. citizens or permanent legal residents after five years.

This week, local social services agencies have seen a spike in people seeking help.

This week, the soup kitchen at Guadalupe Center of Immokalee has seen its daily lunch shoot from 175 to 400 people.

Guadalupe Social Services, which gives free groceries and help with rent or utilities, typically serves 50 families a day. On Friday, it extended hours to serve about 125.

“We’re setting up a plan to start giving extra food,” said Ninfa Drago, director of Guadalupe Social Services. “God knows we need it ... We can’t attend to everyone.”