Print and Send a Letter to the Governor of Florida Demanding that Starving Farmworkers be Helped!
Action Alert!
Farmworkers in Florida Going Hungry!
We cannot stand by when a fundamental injustice is impacting farmworkers in our state! Farmworkers feed the world, but now they cannot even feed themselves. We know. We talk to them every day! You can help! Read below!
Florida was hit by unprecedented freezing temperatures early in January that devastated millions of dollars worth of food crops and ornamental plants. No crops means no work for tens of thousands of farmworkers and their families! Growers can apply for federal assistance programs, while farmworkers are living on the edge, going hungry and on the verge of homelessness. But, there is a way to help and that is for the Governor of Florida to ask President Obama to declare Florida a natural disaster area. A federal declaration of disaster can open up doors for emergency food stamps, disaster unemployment benefits, and food commodities distribution for so many struggling families.
You can help!!!! Send a letter to Governor Crist. Ask him to ask President Obama for a declaration of disaster. A Sample Letter is below. We are counting on you. Farmworkers are counting on you to help! There is no time to delay. Write your letter and mail it today!
FWAF is taking several van loads of farmworkers to Tallahassee on Thursday to call on Governor Crist. Add your voice to ours and
TAKE ACTION!
From all of us and from the people that we work with, THANK YOU!
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions!
(date)
The Honorable Charlie Crist
Governor
The State of Florida
The Capitol
Tallahassee, FL 32399
Dear Governor Crist:
Farmworkers feed us all. Yet, today farmworkers in Florida are going hungry. Families cannot afford to feed their children, pay their rent, keep the electricity on in their homes, put gas in their cars, or buy school supplies for their youngsters. Devastating freezes that destroyed agricultural crops all across the state in early January also devastated the livelihoods of tens of thousands of working men and women who harvest the fruits, vegetables and who cultivate the ornamental plants in Florida. While growers have a safety net through government assistance programs, loans, and crop loss insurance, farmworkers are currently relying on already overburdened food banks and social service agencies that are stretched thin and running out of supplies. There is a fundamental injustice that those we rely on to bring the food to our tables should be deprived of the resources to be adequately nourished and provided for themselves.
That is why I am calling on you today. You can make a difference in the lives of thousands of men, women and children in our great state. I am asking you to call on President Obama to issue a declaration of disaster for Florida. This one act could be the key to help alleviate the suffering and struggling of so many hard-working and deserving families. A federal declaration of disaster can mean that farmworkers would be able to access much needed food stamps, disaster unemployment assistance and food commodities. There is no time to wait. Every day of delay is a day in which a farmworker child goes to bed hungry or a family lives in fear of becoming homeless. You can make a difference. I am asking you to do so in the interest of what is best for our state’s economy, what is best for the agricultural industry in our state, and what is the just right thing to do.
Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
(your name)