Support Our Essential Workers & Immigrant Families

Semillas is a new organization started by Kate Sheehy and Joana Castañeda. We aim to cultivate unity among immigrant families in rural communities so they can become agents of cultural, economic, and educational progress. We are asking you to make a contribution - of any size - to help provide healthy food for immigrant families in the counties of Butte, Tehama, and Glenn. The Latinx population has been disproportionately affected by Covid-19. They fill the majority of essential worker positions such as in food processing plants, maintenance, in-home healthcare, farming, grocery stores, and fast-food. These are also positions where workers have high contact with the public. We are seeing the results of this with a sharp spike in Covid-19 cases among this demographic. Providing food and other resources for these folks will make it a little easier for a person to make the decision to stay home when they’re feeling sick, making our communities safer for everyone. 

 
Furthermore, these jobs are primarily low wage jobs where families live paycheck to paycheck. This necessity to work, and to provide services that so many of us rely on, is one of the main reasons that Latinos have been one of the populations hardest hit by the virus. Latinos make up about 40% of California’s population but account for around 57% of cases, according to recent data from the CA Department of Public Health. Furthermore, many immigrant families do not qualify for unemployment or federal relief, although they pay taxes. The California relief program for undocumented workers has been overwhelmed by requests and only has the funding to meet the need of about 8% of the undocumented population in the state. 

 
Your contribution will go towards a food bank and other resources for these families in our region, allowing more people to make the choice to stay home and healthy, and will also support those who are caring for a sick family member, or cannot work because they are ill.

Thank you.