Share the bounty

It’s always a challenge to talk about the bounty and beauty of our Sonoma County without bouncing between clichés and hyperbole. Amidst all our affluence and accoutrements, it’s also very easy to forget that not everyone gets to share in all that plentifulness and prettiness.
Of course, we already knew that Sonoma County is not immune from poverty, affordable housing problems, unmet health needs and even hunger. But the picture created by the first-ever Sonoma County Farmworker Health Survey, presented in this newspaper by reporter Kat Gore, is shocking for all the beauty and bounty that is missing.
Nine of every 10 farmworkers here, despite having year-round jobs, can’t pay for housing, food or basic needs. They live in overcrowded conditions, lack health care and must live on incomes that are less than half the county’s average. Very few of them get any extra help with food stamps or other subsidies. Only 27 percent claim any modest or basic English language skills.
This is part of the picture we don’t see in the beautiful magazine spreads about the Sonoma Wine Country. If we face the mirror, we must admit that some of the hardest workers that harvest Sonoma County’s bounty every season are being denied a place at the table.
This harsh “have and-have-not” picture is not an indictment of farmworker employers, predominantly vineyard and winery owners. Farmworkers here are compensated well above nearly all other agriculture regions in California and elsewhere. The local ag industry has done much to provide year-round employment and subsidized housing, including some worker benefits and education programs.
This new Farmworker Health Survey is pointing to all of us, detailing several challenges for community activists and government leaders to expand health services, housing solutions and education opportunities.
And, while this survey focused only on farmworkers, many more non-farmworkers also live below the official poverty line in Sonoma County. Nearly 15,000 households in Sonoma County receive federal food stamps, and that includes less than 1,000 farmworker households, according to the survey.
Let’s just say these are not the folks that are buying our $30 bottles of pinot noir.
“These people, these farmworkers, are the backbone of the biggest industry in our community,” county supervisor James Gore said. “They deserve our respect and our diligent efforts to bring them and their families out of the shadows as full members of our communities.”
John Balletto, owner of Balletto Winery and Vineyards is one of several ag leaders that offer worker housing, health insurance and higher than average payscales. “It’s very important for us to do this. We want to make sure we keep our valuable employees.” Balletto challenges the county government and others to assist in more housing solutions and better access to health care.
Other segments of Sonoma County’s beautiful and bountiful economy need to share in solving this shocking income and health disparity. For instance, the lucrative and booming hospitality and restaurant industries should follow Balletto’s and others lead and boost “back of the room” pay above poverty or minimum wage levels. Dishwashers, housekeepers and similar service jobs pay an annual salary below the federal poverty level.
Not really that much better off than a farmworker, these families must live on an average of $24,000 a year, with over half that total usually going to housing costs.
We should be tired of staring at this picture without doing anything to change it. We see too much chronic disease, depression, substance abuse and under-educated children.
But let’s not guilt-trip ourselves. We can certainly continue to enjoy our wine and cheese. We can enjoy entertaining millions of visitors that crave our Wine Country beauty and bounty. But can’t we also find room at our harvest table for more of our hardest workers and their families?
— Rollie Atkinson