Nonprofit Outreach Bolsters Yuma Farmworker Health and Safety
A December 5 video segment highlighted Farmworkers Without Borders and its on the ground work delivering translation assistance, health resource connections, and worker education to seasonal and migrant farmworkers during peak harvest. The coverage underscores Yuma County's critical role supplying leafy greens to the nation in winter, and spotlights gaps in services, public health risks, and policy needs that affect workers and the wider community.
On December 5 a video feature showcased Farmworkers Without Borders, a local nonprofit that provides outreach and services to farmworkers and the agricultural community in Yuma during the winter harvest. Organizers were filmed in fields and at community outreach points delivering translation assistance, connecting workers to health resources, and offering workplace education that aims to improve safety and working conditions for seasonal and migrant laborers.
Yuma County supplies a large share of the nation’s leafy greens during winter months, and the nonprofit’s efforts help farms maintain operations while linking workers and small employers to resources that mitigate workplace risks. The segment documented how on the ground support fills critical gaps, from overcoming language barriers to helping workers navigate health services that are often difficult to access because of limited transportation, variable schedules, and complicated eligibility rules.
Public health implications are immediate and practical. Improved access to health resources and education reduces the likelihood of heat related illness, pesticide exposure, and untreated infectious illnesses that can spread through communal housing and work crews. For the county health system the presence of outreach programs can lower emergency care use, improve vaccination and screening rates, and strengthen outbreak detection among a population that may otherwise remain disconnected from clinics.
The community impact extends beyond farmworkers. Reliable harvest operations support local businesses and the regional food supply. At the same time the coverage highlighted broader equity concerns. Seasonal and migrant workers are essential to the local economy yet face systemic barriers to care and workplace protections. Addressing these disparities requires coordinated action from county public health officials, community clinics, migrant health centers, agricultural employers, and policymakers to expand language access, fund mobile and after hours services, and ensure labor standards are enforced.
Farmworkers Without Borders provides a model of community level intervention that combines direct services with advocacy and employer engagement. Strengthening that model through sustained funding and policy support would advance public health, protect the regional food supply, and advance equity for workers who are integral to Yuma County.
