Harvesting the Basics: Migrant Housing

As the top agricultural producer in the country, California depends on a steady flow of farm laborers to maintain and harvest all kinds of crops.

But how do people who make so little money afford to live in a state known for expensive real estate? Six thousand vineyard workers, for example, are needed during the Fall harvest in Napa County alone but there are only about 200 low-cost beds available in worker dorms.

The housing crisis isn’t unique to Northern California, due to its closeness to the border, it’s also found in San Diego County. In fact, so many outdoor squatter camps are found there, that a special police unit was formed to keep track of them and mediate problems between migrants and nearby businesses and homeowners.

Farm workers in Napa and Sonoma Counties are living outdoors too–in camps, under bridges, even on the back porch of a church. It’s not the picture postcard civic boosters want for one of the state’s top tourist destinations.

“To have one of the wealthiest counties in the United States in one of the most successful agricultural endeavors in the world, to have laborers living under bridges and on the steps of the Catholic Church, that’s an intolerable circumstance,” says Tom Shelton, President and CEO of Joseph Phelps Vineyards in the Napa Valley. Phelps was a key mover behind Measure L–a new ordinance overwhelmingly approved by voters. It allows farm labor housing to be built on what is normally pricey vineyard land.

Measure L’s slogan: “It’s the right thing to do.”