Columbus Junction, IA- Nearly 2,000 meatpacking plant workers in Columbus Junction, West Liberty, and Washington will receive $600 pandemic relief checks from Catholic Charities USA.
Radio Iowa reports that the organization is giving $1.2 million dollars in federal relief to Escucha Mi Voz to aid those workers in rural eastern Iowa.
Father Guillermo Trevino says he witnessed a miracle Tuesday on the feast day of Saint Francis when the funding was announced.
“In a sense the meat plant workers were the heart and soul of the nation because they kept the nation going like so many. And I think people ought to appreciate them more, as well as the farmworkers because again we all have to eat. So a much deserved reward for them,” he says.
The US Department of Agriculture’s Farm and Food Workers Relief Grants are meant to help workers who incurred expenses during the pandemic.
They hope to start distributing the funds in the new year.
