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County of Sonoma

Coronavirus Resources

Resources Financial
 Additional

Ag Resources

Food Safety: On & Off Farm

Food Safety: Farmer's Market

 Federal Aid

State & County Aid

Non-Profit/Private Aid

Employee/Self Employed Aid

Immigrant Aid		 Local Food

Volunteer

Latest Updates

Updated February 18, 2021

Latest updates to this page (newest on top):

Vaccination Information
Here are two options for farms and ag workers to be recognized so that they can receive their vaccine:
 

For Ag Workers - ideal for individual farmers

CAFF survey for individual ag workers. This survey is also available in Spanish.
 

For Farms to sign up their employees

Sonoma County Farm Bureau survey for ag operations. This is for farming operations (except viticulture), ag processing (except wine), breweries and cideries.
 

For Grape Growers and Vintners

Provide information below to the appropriate organization:
Sonoma County Winegrape Commission karissa@sonomawinegrape.org
Sonoma County Vintners michael@sonomawine.com
  • How many employees you have?
  • How many can be transported (either through vans or their own transportation) at a time (this helps to figure out how many hours to get through your entire team)?
  • Primary location in the county (AV, West County, Santa Rosa, Healdsburg, Windsor, Sonoma)?
  • Is there a contact person on your team who can help your employees get registered in the online system? Who is that? Contact info? (if not, we can help)
  • Separately, do you have H2A employees and how many and if there are currently here or when they will be here?

 

Flu Shot Information for Sonoma County

Agricultural Resources

Ag Worker Safety

Agriculture Workers & Employers Guidance from CDC and US Dept of Labor. Guidelines to help minimize the spread of the virus for agriculture operations.

Cal/OSHA Agriculture resources:

California Farm Labor Contractor Asso - Coronavirus resources for ag workers.

Community Mitigation Best Practices in English and Spanish by Sonoma County Vintners.

COVID-19 Resources for Agriculture by UC Davis Western Center for Agricultural Health & Safety to help keep everyone on the job safe. They have checklists, signage, videos and more. Many of the resources are available in both English and Spanish.

Essential Employee Pass (pdf) for agricultural workers by Sonoma County Farm Bureau. 

Farm Commons provides legal advice for ag enterprises and is posting videos about various topics related to the virus.

Industry Resources by California Farm Bureau Federation.

Return to Work Playbook by Kaiser Permanente

Workplace Exposure Guidelines for Employers by SoCo Emergency - what to do if an employee tests positive includes who to call and steps to minimize exposure.

Special Interest:

  • PBS Frontline: COVID's Hidden Toll (video) - examines how the COVID crisis has hit vulnerable immigrants and undocumented workers. The documentary follows the coronavirus pandemic’s invisible victims, including crucial farm and meat-packing workers who lack protections and have been getting sick.

flight-landscape-nature-sky-36717 from Pixabay
Agritourism Resources

Business General

Coronavirus and COVID-19 by UC ANR resources for Agriculture, Food & Nutrition, Youth Development, Gardening, Exploring Your Environment and Health & Wellness.

Coronavirus Resources for Food & Ag by CA Dept of Food & Ag.

COVID-19 and Business Resources by Wyoming Trust & LLC Attorney thanks to Skyla, resources applicable to all businesses.

COVID-19 Employer Playbook for a Safe Reopening by CA Dept of Public Health. To help plan and prepare for reopening their business[es] and to support a safe, clean environment for workers and customers.

***Economic Impacts from COVID-19 on Sonoma County Agricultural Community study by Robert Eyler, PhD, president of Economic Forensics and Analytics, Inc. commissioned by Sonoma County Ag + Open Space.

Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Employee Paid Leave Rights requires certain employers to provide employees with paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19. These provisions apply through December 31, 2020 and apply to ALL employers to some extent.

FAQ for Ag Operations by UCCE Marin County.

EDB resources for Agriculture, Wine & Cannabis
SoCo Launch phase 3

Best Management Plans:

Additional resources:

On-Site Safety

Agriculture Workers & Employers Guidance from CDC and US Dept of Labor. Guidelines to help minimize the spread of the virus for agriculture operations.

Cal/OSHA Agriculture resources:

COVID-19 Resources for Agriculture by UC Davis Western Center for Agricultural Health & Safety to help keep everyone on the job safe. They have checklists, signage, videos and more. Many of the resources are available in both English and Spanish.

Essential Employee Pass (pdf) for agricultural workers by Sonoma County Farm Bureau. 

Farm Commons provides legal advice for ag enterprises and is posting videos about various topics related to the virus.

Industry Resources by California Farm Bureau Federation.

Planning for the Next Normal at Work, Keeping Your Workforce Safe & Healthy by Kaiser Permanente

Winery/Tasting Room Reopening Framework Best Practices & Guidelines by Sonoma County Vintners.

Special Interest:

  • PBS Frontline: COVID's Hidden Toll (video) - examines how the COVID crisis has hit vulnerable immigrants and undocumented workers. The documentary follows the coronavirus pandemic’s invisible victims, including crucial farm and meat-packing workers who lack protections and have been getting sick.

Selling Product

CSA and Online Sales Resources for Farmers, from the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF), including General Resources, COVID-19 Resources, CSA and Direct Online Sales Tips, CSA and online sales software.

Good Meat Project a switchboard for listing meat for sale.

Meat Resources by Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network for those raising livestock and for businesses that process and sell meat. Includes ability to list meat for sale and listing of online sales platforms.

Online Sales with a change in the supply line, farms are looking for new solutions and consumers are looking for alternatives to purchase produce. Enter online sales:

Resources for Farmers by Food Animal Concerns Trust includes webinars relevant to this crisis such as Create a Website that Sells, Find & Engage with Customers on Social Media and more.

Coronavirus Social Media Content from Visit California - Best practices from Visit California for developing content during COVID-19.

Supply/Demand Matchmaking by CAFF/Farmers Guild designed to match up needs and surplus in the California food system. 

USDA Resources

  • Visit Federal Programs page for more details on their programs.
  • The COVID-19 Federal Rural Resource Guide (PDF, 349 KB), a first-of-its-kind resource for rural leaders looking for federal funding and partnership opportunities to help address this pandemic.
  • Farmers.gov updates on USDA actions during the coronavirus emergency.
  • USDA Coronavirus comprehensive information on all USDA announcements and actions related to the coronavirus emergency.
  • H2-A Visa Program latest information related to the H2A visa program and processing of applications.
  • Rural Development programs for rural residents, businesses and communities.

Financial Resources for Business

Federal

State

County

Non-Profit/Private

  • California FarmLink Covid-19 Emergency Loans of up to $20,000 with 0% interest for first two years. Two-year loan with no payments required for first 6 months.
  • Emergency Grant by Santa Rosa Metro Chamber of Commerce distributing small emergency grants up to $2000 for small businesses (fewer than 20 employees) throughout Sonoma County. Regardless of affiliation with the Chamber or of citizenship.
  • Family Farmer Emergency Fund by CAFF/Farmer's Guild Grants range from $1,000 to $5,000, with half of the funds reserved for farmers of color and those from immigrant communities. For operations make a minimum of $10,000 and a maximum of $400,000 in gross sales annually.
  • Farmer Relief Fund by American Farmland Trust grants of up to $1,000 each to help them weather the current storm of market disruptions caused by the coronavirus crisis.
  • Hello Alice COVID-19 Business Resource Center is offering small business owners and entrepreneurs help and emergency funding. Apply for a $10,000 Emergency Grant and get help with accessing other funding and assistance.
  • Save Small Business Fund by U.S.Chamber of Commerce, applications available 4/20. $5,000 grant. Qualification: employ 3-20 people, be in an economically vulnerable community (determined by Zip) and be financially harmed by the pandemic.
  • The Bricmont Hardship Assistance Fund by CCOF provides direct financial assistance exclusively to organic producers who suffer financial losses due to extreme hardship.

Financial Resources For Employees and Self-Employed

If you are self-employed and unable to work or have had your hours reduced due to COVID-19, you may be eligible for Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits. Visit EDD's Pandemic Unemployemnt Assistance page and EDD FAQ's page.

If your employer has reduced your hours or shut down operations due to COVID-19, you can file an Unemployment Insurance (UI) claim.

  • OnwardCA a one-stop resource for the people of California impacted by job loss during the COVID-19 Pandemic by the State of CA.
  • Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) for those not eligible for regular unemployment. Starting April 28, California will accept applications for individuals not eligible for regular unemployment and who are unable to work due to COVID-19.

Office of Personnel Management guidance on HR flexibilities and authorities related to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Employees should contact the human resources office at their employing agency if they have further questions on specific authorities and flexibilities.

Immigrant Aid

Comprehensive guide for Immigrant Californians by the State Public Health Department.

Immigrant Relief Fund
California Immigrant Fund

California Immigrant Resilience Fund provides direct cash assistance to immigrant Californians who are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but are excluded from federal relief and ineligible for most state safety-net programs.

Eligible immigrants can apply through local partners in Northern CA. Given the devastating economic impact of COVID-19 on undocumented communities, many of our local partners have long waiting lists and may not be accepting new applications for assistance at this time.

El Fondo de Resiliencia solamente ofrece asistencia financiera a través de organizaciones comunitarias locales. El coronavirus ha devastado communidades indocumentados. Muchas de las organizáciones con que trabajamos ya tienen listas de espera por las peticiones para el fondo de efectivo gratis y varios no están aceptando nuevas peticiónes para ayuda.

To learn more, visit Immigrant Fund FAQs.

***NEW Coronavirus (COVID-19) Disaster Relief Assistance for Immigrants listing by CA Dept of Social Services.

Disaster Relief Assistance for Immigrants (DRAI) project is a one-time state-funded disaster relief assistance for undocumented adult immigrants impacted by COVID-19. An undocumented adult who qualifies can receive $500 in direct assistance, with a maximum of $1000 in assistance per household. For Sonoma and other northern California counties.