Each year, nearly 25,000 workers, most of them dads from Mexico, leave their families for the better part of a year to work for North Carolina farmers. They are legally authorized to work in the US by way of the seasonal visa program. Employers of these workers are required by law to provide free housing; however, clean and suitable mattresses are not usually a priority. The seasonal visa program began in 1986 and many of the labor camps are nearly as old. It is not uncommon to find mattresses that should have been replaced many years ago, with collapsed springs, stuffing falling out of rips and tears, and jagged metal protruding through ineffective covers.
There are nearly 2,000 farm labor camps in NC. Nobody can say exactly how many mattresses are due for replacement. But based on the Episcopal Farmworker Ministry’s first-hand experience, they are certain thousands of mattresses are needed. This year, EFWM aims to swap out 100 mattresses at camps where the need is greatest. Eventually, EFWM aims to expand this initiative for the replacement of thousands of mattresses across the state. At its campus in Sampson County, the ministry has a warehouse for short-term storage, a box truck for delivering, and staff and volunteers ready deliver new mattresses and take old ones to the dump. EFWM has negotiated a bulk purchase with Mattress Firm for brand new mattresses for $250.00 each. Now, to continue and grow the momentum of the Farmworker Mattress Swap Project, EFWM just needs funds to place an order.
Can you make this growing season just a little bit better for one farmworker by donating $250? Can you pool $50 with four of your friends to buy one mattress?
The new executive director of EFWM will visit St. Paul’s this year on March 30 for our annual Hermano Day. Please, let’s show EFWM that we see farmworkers and that they are our neighbors. You may donate online, or bring a check to St. Paul’s; you must indicate “EFWM mattresses” in the memo/other line. Please contact Katie Bricio at katiebricio13@gmail.com with any questions.