As challenging a year as 2020 has been, there is much to be grateful for, and I would like to share that with all of you in the “12 Days of Gratitude,” between now and December 24th.
Our first day of gratitude is for our essential farmers, ranchers and farmworkers. Their work has continued through the highly stressful events of this year, making sure that the food supply remains plentiful for all Americans.
COVID-19, heat waves, power shut-downs, wildfires and long-lasting pervasive smoke created unique circumstances for that work. I’m grateful that our dedicated CDFA staff was able to team-up with agricultural commissioners and community based organizations to deliver much-needed PPE to farmers and farmworkers. To date, more than 6.3 million N-95 masks have been distributed, along with more than 14 million surgical masks, two-million cloth masks, 1.8 million pairs of gloves, and 313,000 unites of hand sanitizer.
I’m also thankful to the Governor and for the support of our sister agencies to stand-up the Housing for the Harvest Program. I am grateful to Undersecretary Jenny Lester Moffit for her tireless work with 15 California counties and local social service providers to offer lodging and other essential services to farmworkers who need to isolate due to coronavirus exposure.
This is clearly a year like no other but we are in it together! Through it all there is a whole new appreciation for the importance of farmers, ranchers and farmworkers in how they touch our daily lives.