Sustainable and affordable housing for Oregon’s farmworkers continues to be a challenge, but now a new federal investment is designed to help.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded $956,333 for a project to rehabilitate Villa Del Sol, a multi-family affordable housing complex in McMinnville that serves farmworkers and their families.
The funding comes from USDA Rural Development’s Off-Farm Labor Housing Program, which helps property owners make health and safety repairs, accessibility improvements, energy efficiency upgrades, and more to benefit their tenants. Across five states, the Off-Farm Labor Housing Program is awarding a total of $18 million in grants and loans to improve approximately 500 homes, including Villa Del Sol in Oregon.
Community Home Builders in Yamhill County will use the $956,333 federal award to significantly rehabilitate eight two-bedroom, 12 three-bedroom, and four four-bedroom units at Villa Del Sol. The improvements will not only enhance living conditions for the 24 tenants who are expected to benefit from the project, but all future farmworkers and their families who will call the housing complex home, according to a release from the offices of Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and U.S. Representative Andrea Salinas.
“Making sure families have access to safe and affordable housing in the communities where they work is essential,” Merkley said. “This federal investment will help ensure safer, more modern housing for the farmworkers in Yamhill County who work every day to help feed families across Oregon and America. I will keep fighting to deliver necessary housing resources like this so everyone in our state can thrive and live healthy lives.”
“Housing is a human right, and farmworkers in Oregon deserve affordable and secure living options,” Wyden said. “I’m gratified this McMinnville housing complex has earned nearly $1 million in federal funds to provide that housing for farmworkers and their families. And I’ll continue pressing for similar investments in housing for agricultural workers and every person statewide.”
“Despite being the backbone of our agricultural economy, many farmworkers still can’t afford to feed their families or put a roof over their heads,” Salinas said. “As the daughter of a former farmworker, I’m committed to changing that reality – which is why I am so proud to announce this federal funding for Community Home Builders in Yamhill County. These dollars will be used to deliver safe, affordable housing for farmworkers and their families here in the mid-valley. It’s a critical step in the right direction, and I’ll keep fighting for investments just like this one that will help us make housing more accessible and affordable for Oregonians.”
“Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA Rural Development has invested over $1 billion in creating safe, affordable housing options for rural Oregonians,” USDA Rural Housing Administrator Joaquin Altoro said. “We are proud of our partnership with Community Home Builders, and it is an honor to see these investments increase the health and wellbeing of Oregon’s farm workers.”
BACKGROUND
According to the Farmworker Housing Development Corporation (FWHDC, the Mid-Willamette Valley region of Oregon has one of the largest agricultural workforces in the country, led by over 40,000 hard-working farmworkers, some of whom migrate seasonally to other parts of the country when other crops are ready for harvest. Many, however, reside permanently in the area.
“Farmworkers are vital to Oregon’s growth and economic success, and farmworkers continue today to leave their mark in our state, not just with their strong economic contributions, but with their rich and fruitful culture and active community participation, the FWHDC states on its website.
According to Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS), a farmworker is defined as a person working in connection with cultivating the soil, raising or harvesting any agriculture or aquaculture commodity.
A farmworker may also work in connection with catching, netting, handling, planting, drying, packing, grading, storing, or preserving in its unmanufactured state any agriculture or aquaculture commodity. A farmworker may deliver to storage, market, or a carrier for transportation to market or to processing any agricultural or aquacultural commodity.
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