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  2. Unsung Heroes: Food Workers During the Covid Crisis

Unsung Heroes: Food Workers During the Covid Crisis

Jonah Braverman

Students hear the voices of the food workers who harvest, deliver, serve, and sell our food, and consider how these workers are on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic.

Current Issues

To the Teacher

As we face the current global crisis, we are reminded how important it is to see the world from multiple perspectives, and to begin to grasp the shared and the unequal impact of the Covid-19 crisis. 

During the pandemic, when we hear the phrase “essential workers,” we often think about the healthcare workers, doctors, nurses, and firefighters who play an extensive role in the crisis. 

While these essential people dominate the narrative, we are leaving other frontline workers out of the picture. How can we value all “essential workers,” in particular those who have been historically invisible to the rest of society?  

Every aspect of the food chain is an essential service for getting food into our communities. Our society has always depended on these workers, and they have sacrificed so much to put food on our tables. 

This lesson concentrates on the food workers who harvest, deliver, serve, and sell our food, low-income workers who have found themselves on the frontline of the global disaster. It engages students in exploring the role of these “essential workers” to deepen our appreciation for them and ensure that they too are seen, heard, and valued.

 

Farmworker living quarters
Living quarters of farmworkers in North Carolina

 

Opening Ceremony

Ask students to name the “frontline workers” or “essential workers” who continue to work during the Covid-19 crisis. Ask them to think as broadly as possible to ensure that together we capture the broad range of “essential workers.” (An "essential worker" is a person designated to work through a crisis because they are classified as indispensable or needed for survival. They are often said to be doing “frontline work.”)

Then ask students to work together to rank these frontline jobs, from most to least essential jobs during the coronavirus crisis. 

Next, ask students why we have ranked some “essential workers” over others, while all frontline workers are needed during this crisis? This may be because historically, our society has divided the workforce this way, valuing some more over others. 

As we may have seen from this brainstorm, when we hear the phrase “essential workers,” we often think about healthcare workers, doctors, nurses, and firefighters, leaving other frontline workers out of the picture. This includes food workers who have been historically largely invisible to the society. Like healthcare workers and emergency medical workers, food workers are putting themselves in harm’s way for the rest of us. 

The current global crisis reminds us how important it is to see the world through multiple perspectives if we are to begin to grasp the shared and the unequal impact of the crisis.

Share with students that we’ll be exploring food workers, the unsung heroes of the Covid-19 crisis.  This lesson will provide us the opportunity to understand the multiple experiences of these essential workers.  It will also deepen our appreciation for all frontline workers and consider how to support them during the pandemic and beyond. 

 


How much do we really know about food workers?

Operational Definitions

Food system: The path that food travels from farm to plate
Food chain worker: A person who works in the food system


To build on their understanding of who food workers are, ask students to brainstorm a list of jobs in the food system, for example grocery workers or farmers. This can help us begin to explore how complicated the food system is, and how each role is essential in bringing food to our communities and tables. 

How much do we really know about food workers and their experiences, both in general and during the Covid-19 crisis? 

Share the following video, which provides an introduction into what a food system is, where our food comes from, and some of the challenges that exist within the food system. 

“Guess Who’s Coming to Breakfast?” from the Food Chain Alliance

After watching the video, ask students the following questions:

  • What surprised you about the video?
  • What stood out for you from the facts the video provided about each group of workers? (You may need to watch the video again to take in more of this information.)  
  • Are you surprised that the family at the table knew so little about these workers? Why or why not?
  • What is your impression of food workers? Where do these ideas come from? 
  • What are some additional food jobs that we missed during our earlier brainstorm about the different roles people play in the food system? 
     


Overview: Food workers on the frontline

Please read the description below aloud


We have seen how courageous frontline workers have been during the current pandemic – from healthcare workers to transport workers to food workers. 

Today, we’ll be focusing on food chain workers, who are often an invisible part of the U.S. workforce – and are now serving on the frontline of this global pandemic. As much of the country shelters in place, some of the lowest-paid workers in the country are being forced to risk their lives to keep our food coming. 

The federal government has classified food workers as essential, meaning that they are being asked to maintain a normal work schedule as part of their jobs. But even though they are considered essential, food workers are excluded from government aid. They often must go without basic safety equipment like masks and hand sanitizer. They are often paid minimum wage, and many do not have benefits like healthcare and childcare. They don’t receive extra “hazard pay” for the dangerous work they are doing. In short, for the most part, food workers have not been protected during this crisis.

While Americans have been instructed to maintain a six-foot distance from each other during this period, food workers continue to labor shoulder to shoulder – and risk losing their jobs if they object. They face the dilemma, do I stay home without income to pay for food and rent, or do I go to work and risk infection? Delivery workers risk on-the-job exposure to Covid-19 at almost the same rate as nurses, social workers, and paramedics. 

At this critical moment, we have a choice to honor food workers, with justice, visibility, and recognition. 

People of color make up a large majority of the food chain workers in the United States. Millions of food workers are undocumented (meaning that they don’t have legal immigration status). So they often don’t have access to unemployment and other benefits, even though they are risking their lives on a daily basis for the rest of us. 

This is one reason why immigrant communities and people of color have been disproportionality impacted by Covid-19, with many more cases in these populations: They continue to work and be out in the world during the pandemic, while many others are able to stay home and self-quarantine. 

In response, some low-income and immigrant workers have been protesting the failure to provide basic safe working conditions during the Covid-19 crisis. Protests and job actions have been organized by workers in the meatpacking industry, McDonalds workers, farm workers, and employees of Whole Foods, Amazon and Instacart, among others. 
 
To understand the multiple perspectives of food workers during the pandemic, we will be hearing directly from them through videos and testimonies illustrating the dangerous conditions that they are exposed to on a daily basis. We will be hearing the voices of farmworkers, bodega workers, fast food workers, and delivery workers. 

 

Hearing Workers’ Voices


Ask students to volunteer to read each of the following testimonials for the group, or read the testimonials yourself. Ask students to listen carefully to each testimonial and explain that you will be asking reflection questions afterwards.   
 

Farmworker During the Pandemic Crisis

The following testimony describes what it feels like to be an undocumented immigrant farmworker during the Covid-19 crisis. 

“I am one of the thousands of farmworkers across the country making sure there is still food to put on your tables. Since I came to New York from Guatemala 11 years ago, I have cleaned cabbage in a packing shed, milked cows on dairy farms, trimmed apple trees in orchards, and wrapped and pruned tomatoes in a greenhouse.

If I get sick with Covid-19, I’m afraid of what it will mean for my children, my colleagues, and my community. But unlike many other workers in the United States, my workplace has not shut down. Farmworkers are considered essential, and yet we are left out of government support.

On Monday I got really sick and I had a headache, fever, sore throat. This are really hard situations and honestly, I didn’t know what to do. There wasn’t medicine in the stores, nor masks.  It’s hard for us as immigrants, in a country that isn’t ours, and even worse with the crisis right now. 

I didn’t know what to do. I was so worried: One week at home without a paycheck? I support three daughters in Guatemala and a young son here, and I’m on my own. If I told management, what would happen? How would I feed my children or pay my rent?

But since I am a leader of Alianza Agrícola, a grassroots organization that is an advocate for immigrant farmworkers in Western New York, I knew my rights. New York had passed legislation before I got sick that requires employers with more than 10 employees to provide paid sick leave to workers who must stay home because of coronavirus concerns.

I might not have known about my rights before joining the organization. I’ve gone through so many hard times in this country and the group has given me the strength to fight to improve the lives of people in my community.”

Reflection Questions

  • How did listening to the testimony impact you? 
  • What did you learn? 
  • What surprised you?  
  • What questions do you have? 

 

Bodega Worker in NYC 

The following testimony describes what it feels like to work at a bodega during the Covid-19 crisis. Ask participants to listen carefully as you read aloud and explain that you will be asking reflection questions afterwards.   


“It gets very busy. We sell fruits and vegetables, and people depend on us,” said [bodega worker Nasim Almuntaser]. As the coronavirus pandemic hit New York City, some bodegas have shut down or cut their hours. “We’re one of the few stores on the block that is open 24 hours,” he said. It’s good business, for sure. But Nasim Almuntaser is also stressed out because he doesn’t have masks and gloves that protect him. He said he has been wearing the same mask over and over. “I have never thought of fear going to work. Simple fear — like not waking up the next day,” he said. 


“I think we needed to be treated [as] equal as first responders. Because in a way, even though we are not going to the scene — we are the scene, right?" Nasim Almuntaser said. “We are what’s going on in New York City. People are coming to us. A lot of supermarkets are closed. You know, we really need people to take this seriously.”

Reflection Questions

  • How did listening to the testimony impact you? 
  • What did you learn? 
  • What surprised you?  
  • What questions do you have? 

 

Supermarket Worker

The following testimony describes what it feels like to work at a supermarket during the Covid-19 crisis. Ask participants to listen carefully as you read aloud and explain that you will be asking reflection questions afterwards.   

“Just because we are open doesn’t mean we are here for you to spend your time browsing around. We are designated as an essential service. We are in a state of emergency. This is not a vacation. Every customer who walks in our doors puts us at risk. 

We really don’t want to be here, but we realize that we are needed. You don’t see how many times a day we wash and sanitize our hands to try to keep ourselves safe. You don’t see our upset co-workers in the break room struggling to keep their composure. You don’t see our spouses who worry about us every minute we are at work and who are our strength when we get home.

We have our jobs to do and we realize the importance of our job to you. The least you can do is come in with a sense of purpose, get what you need, and get yourselves home.” 

(Open letter from a Supermarket Worker)

Reflection Questions

  • How did listening to the testimony impact you? 
  • What did you learn? 
  • What surprised you?  
  • What questions do you have?

 

Fast Food Workers

This following video describes what it feels like to work at McDonalds during the Covid-19 crisis. Ask participants to listen carefully and explain that you will be asking reflection questions after the video.   

New York Times Opinion, “Virus with Your Quarter Pounder?” Why McDonald's Needs to Guarantee Paid Sick Leave:

Reflection Questions: 

  • How did listening to the testimony impact you? 
  • What did you learn? 
  • What surprised you?  
  • What questions do you have? 

 

Fast Food Worker 

The following testimony describes what it feels like to work in the fast food industry during the Covid-19 crisis. Ask participants to listen carefully as you read aloud and explain that you will be asking reflection questions afterwards.   

“My concern is I will get the virus and take it home to my kids. Fast-food drive-through aren't safe. I deal with customers that will cough, sneeze and then hand you their money. Sorry, but you also can't trust every worker to be clean.

I do need to work, but I also have two kids that have been hospitalized due to rare disease and I myself have health issues. I fear catching this virus and taking it home. I'm already poor. I live paycheck to paycheck, but I would much rather be out of work to help prevent the spread to my children or anyone else.

I love my kids and want them to stay safe. Please help the poor who are still being forced to take risks.”

Reflection Questions 

  • How did listening to the testimony impact you? 
  • What did you learn? 
  • What surprised you?  
  • What questions do you have? 

 

Delivery Worker 

The following testimony describes what it feels like be a delivery person during the Covid-19 crisis. Ask participants to listen carefully as you read aloud and explain that you will be asking reflection questions afterwards.   

Gustavo Hernandez has been delivering food around Brooklyn for four years. In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, he says he is scared each day as he heads into work:

“I’m afraid every time I go into a building and touch elevator buttons,” said Hernandez.

The problem is he can’t stop working. He needs to pay his bills. And he believes by putting himself out in public he puts his wife and five kids at risk for getting sick.

“This is something none of us could prepare for. I’m so scared for my family—what if I catch it and give it to my family,” said Hernandez.

He says now that restaurants can only offer delivery and take out options, he and his fellow workers have been bombarded with orders.

“We all are working more hours and not getting paid overtime,” said Hernandez.

Reflection Questions 

  • How did listening to the testimony impact you? 
  • What did you learn? 
  • What surprised you?  
  • What questions do you have? 

 

Food Worker Who is Protesting 

The following testimony is from a fast food industry worker who is protesting her working conditions. Ask participants to listen carefully as you read aloud the narrative below and explain that you will be asking reflection questions afterwards.   

The 27-year-old single mother, who has an 8-year-old son, said she makes an hourly wage of $13.45, which is barely enough to support her family. She is among millions of essential workers who are on the frontlines of the pandemic helping to feed people throughout the United States by staffing fast-food counters, drive-thru windows and fulfilling online grocery orders.

“Now, we’re categorized as essential workers. Before, we were just burger flippers who should get a better job, go to college,” Alvarez told “Nightline.” “But now we’re the ones out there risking and keeping this economy flowing. So I feel like we’ve been very important. It’s just people fail to realize it.” Unable to work from home, Alvarez is among other foodservice employees who have become front line workers. Some say they are doing their jobs without the protections they need to keep themselves and their customers safe. “We deserve hazard pay. We deserve paid sick leave," Alvarez said. "We’re risking [our lives] going to work... and we’re still getting paid the same poverty wages and I don’t think that’s fair.” 

Alvarez is part of the Fight for Fifteen movement, an effort that started out advocating to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the group has also supported employee strikes around the country. 

Reflection Questions

  • How did listening to the testimony impact you? 
  • What did you learn? 
  • What surprised you?  
  • What questions do you have? 

 

Evaluation

  • How did hearing all the testimonies about food workers impact you? 
  • Of all the testimonies we heard and watched, what stood out for you most? Why?
  • What did you learn about food workers?  
  • How does the experience of the food chain workers connect to our own experience?   
  • After hearing all of the narratives, is there anything you would do differently when it comes to food workers?

 

Closing Ceremony 

What is one specific thing that you could do to support food workers during this global crisis and beyond, to ensure that they are valued for their tremendous sacrifice to put food on our tables?  
 


Extension Activity

Look at the students’ responses from the Closing Ceremony and consider ways that your class can work together to turn thoughts and feelings into action. 


Note:  The Food Chain Workers Alliance shares some ways that people can support food workers now: 

  1. TREAT ALL FOOD WORKERS WITH RESPECT AND DIGNITY
     
  2. CALL ON GOVERNMENT TO ACT to ensure sick days, healthcare, worker protections, to expand federal unemployment and stimulus benefits to all workers, regardless of immigration status. 
     
  3. ASK FOOD CORPORATIONS to provide paid sick leave, hazard pay, family leave, and respect the right to organize.
     
  4. RAISE AWARENESS AND SHARE WITH OTHERS

 

Sources