Washington State's economy is highly dependent on the health of its $5.3 billion agricultural industry, which relies on over 170,000 agricultural workers annually.  Each year, communities are overwhelmed by the sudden influx of migrant workers that arrive to cultivate, harvest, and process Washington's labor-intense crops.  During peak harvest seasons, a critical shortage of housing forces hundreds of migrant workers and their families to live in substandard and overcrowded housing, or to camp illegally, posing health and safety hazards to themselves and to the community.   The lack of adequate housing can also impact the availability of labor, resulting in the loss of millions of dollars to farmers and to the state's economy.  In the summer of 1998, recognizing the critical need for additional safe, decent and affordable housing for agricultural workers, Governor Gary Locke declared farmworker housing to be the state's first priority housing need and included $40 million for this purpose in his ten-year capital budget plan.  In 1999, a legislative proviso to RCW 43.185.060, the Housing Assistance, Weatherization, and Affordable Housing, Housing Trust Fund (HTF) portion of the capital budget, established funding for a Farmworker Housing Program within Commerce.  Since that time, the legislature has maintained this commitment and has appropriated $8 million each biennium for the program, which provides financial and technical assistance for the development of farmworker housing.

For more background information, please view the following reports: Farmworker Housing in Washington State: Safe, Decent and Affordable (March 2005) and Farmworker Housing in Washington State: Progress to Date (December 2007).

Program Overview

The Farmworker Housing Program’s three-pronged strategy for addressing the state’s farmworker housing shortage includes providing grants and loans for:

• Capital investments in permanent (year-round) housing for farmworkers;
• Capital and operating investments in seasonal housing for migrant workers; and
• Emergency assistance for migrant workers that are homeless or have been displaced due to health and safety issues.

• Permanent housing- Grants and loans to nonprofit organizations and local governments for capital investments in rental and homeownership projects targeted to farmworkers that live in the area year-round.
• Seasonal housing- Grants and loans to nonprofit organizations and local governments for capital investments and operating subsidies for seasonal camps and rental housing serving migrant farmworkers.
• Emergency Housing- Voucher Assistance Emergency housing vouchers for migrant workers that are displaced due to health and safety reasons and who can’t afford to pay for housing.  Administered by Department of Health, under contract with Commerce. 
• Infrastructure Loan Program- Forgivable no-interest loans to growers to finance the infrastructure necessary for the development of on-farm housing that is owned and operated by the grower.
• Rent-a-Tent Program- OSHA-approved tents leased to growers to provide on-farm housing for cherry harvest workers.  Growers must provide the infrastructure and amenities required under state licensing standards.  Administered by the Washington Growers League, under contract with Commerce.
• One-Stop Clearinghouse (1-800-796-0422)- Technical assistance to growers, nonprofit organizations, and local governments on issues related to the development of seasonal farmworker housing, including planning and design, building codes, temporary worker housing regulations, financing options, and management operations.