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Yolo County reports expanded farmworker outreach, a $450,000 James Irvine award and continuing service challenges
Summary
County staff reported outreach to about 1,500 farmworkers in 2024–25, a new James Irvine award to fund listening sessions and supports, financial-assistance pilots and a text-alert roster, while noting declines in phone inquiries amid immigration‑enforcement concerns and the need to expand partner outreach.
Yolo County's agricultural-worker coordinator and service-center staff told supervisors July 22 that the county's farmworker program reached roughly 1,500 workers in 2024–25 and added several new services including a James Irvine Foundation award to fund listening sessions and a small emergency-assistance pilot.
Dr. Tico Zendejas, service-center leadership, and Rodrigo Lopez, the county's agricultural labor coordinator, reviewed program activity funded by the board. Lopez said the program operates a farmworker hotline, conducts field outreach and resource fairs, distributes boxes in partnership with the Yolo Food Bank and has produced a pocket farmworker resource guide with contact information for benefits, housing and immigration services.
Lopez said outreach connected roughly 1,500 farmworkers last year — about 20% of Yolo County's estimated farmworker population — and that the program handled more than 200 hotline calls in 2024–25. He said phone calls declined in early 2025, reporting weeks with five or fewer calls after a period averaging 15–20, a drop he attributed to increased concerns about immigration enforcement.
The county has piloted a small emergency assistance fund called Cultural Vision Resiliency that provided $500 grants to 60 farmworkers during the year; Lopez said some ARP funds provided by Supervisors Barajas and others helped support the emergency payments. The program also operates an opt-in text messaging list with roughly 1,000 farmworkers for urgent alerts and outreach.
Zendejas and Lopez described a James Irvine Foundation award totaling $450,000 for a two-year project, "Seeds of Success," that will fund farmworker listening sessions across the county, pay modest stipends for participants and then provide targeted follow-up services for a selection of attendees. The program's stated goal is to collect farmworker-identified needs and create responsive services and referrals.
The board heard requests to maintain and expand partnerships — county staff said they will continue to work with First 5, the Yolo Food Bank, community colleges and legal and labor-rights organizations — and supervisors praised the outreach while asking staff to continue extending contacts to West Sacramento, Clarksburg and other areas where many farmworkers live. Zendejas told supervisors the county would increase collaborative meetings and use eligibility staff to do more field outreach if resources permit.
Lopez and Zendejas also said the program will continue to respond to time-sensitive issues such as Medi-Cal notices and urged residents and employers to use the farmworker hotline and resource guide for assistance.
