Considered “essential workers," farmworkers are still harvesting crops during the pandemic. In Immokalee, the community has banned together to make handwashing stations available for those still at work in the fields.
Seven handwashing stations have been placed at labor pick up locations throughout Immokalee.
Julia Perkins of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers said the stations help laborers engage in a critical preventative measure outlined by health experts
"It's at least another opportunity for people to be able to practice some of those preventative measures," Perkins said.
Perkins said the handwashing stations were provided by Lipman Family Farms and delivered by the Collier County Sheriff's Office. Soap that was provided by the Collier County Department of Health and Collier County Emergency Management.
The stations will be refilled with water by the Immokalee Fire Control District, according to Deputy Fire Chief Thomas Cunningham.
"For the immediate future , we’ll be going out every evening to make sure that they’re full for the morning and topped off," Cunningham said.
Perkins said information on social distancing and other methods for preventing the spread of COVD-19 will be available at the handwashing stations.
