FFWR Eligibility and Requirements
Eligibility
The USDA's Farm and Food Workers Relief (FFWR) Program provides a one-time, $600 payment to frontline workers of agriculture, grocery stores, or meatpacking for expenses incurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic. If you have worked in the agriculture industry, directly as a food or farm worker, between January 27, 2020, and May 11, 2023 you may be eligible.
Farmworkers and/or Meatpacking Workers Projects: Hired workers are defined by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) as anyone, other than an agricultural service worker, who was paid for at least one hour of agricultural work on a farm or ranch, or in a meat processing facility.
Worker type is determined by what the employee was primarily hired to do, not necessarily what work was done during the pandemic. Types of workers include:
Field Workers: Employees engaged in planting, tending, harvesting crops, and post-harvest activities as listed below, including operation of farm machinery on crop farms.
Livestock Workers: Employees tending livestock, milking cows, or caring for poultry, including operation of farm machinery on livestock or poultry operations.
Meatpacking Workers: Employees engaged in animal slaughtering and meat or poultry processing, including meat or poultry packaging.
NMSHSA will only be distributing relief payments to the farmworker community. For the complete list of organizations that will be providing relief to grocery workers and meat packers, visit USDA's awarded grant page.
Requirements
Applicants must provide both a proof of identity and proof of employment to receive their relief payments.
Acceptable Forms of Identification
- Any State-Issued Driver's License
- Any State-Issued ID Card
- Consular Registration
- H2A/H2B Visa
- International Identification Document
- Passport (from any country)
- School Identification Card
- U.S Green Card
- Work Identification Card
Acceptable Proof of Employment
- Bank Records Showing Direct Deposit(s)
- Earning Statements
- Federal Income Tax Statement
- Letter Offering Employment
- Paystubs
- W-2
- Written Attestations
Privacy Discretion
The NMSHSA and partnering sub-grantees will be asking applicants a series of questions that will be used to determine their eligibility for the FFWR program. We will be collecting personal information that will be temporarily stored by our organization and eventually securely discarded.
Applicants must provide documentation that proves their identity and the type of industry they currently work or worked in. It is important for everyone to know that there is no cost to apply for the assistance, it is not a loan, and will not be taxed; nor will immigration status be a factor for eligibility.
Personal identifiable information will not be shared with the USDA or any other government agency.