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The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved $2 million on Tuesday to launch a loan fund supporting local farmers who provide low-cost housing to farmworkers, county officials said.
The funding, approved in a 5-0 vote, aims to help address the county’s shortage of affordable housing for agricultural workers by financing the rehabilitation of existing housing units and the construction of new ones, a press release on Thursday noted.
“Our agricultural industry is the backbone of our food system, and it’s struggling here in San Mateo County,” said Supervisor Ray Mueller, who represents District 3, home to most of the county’s farmland. “We’re taking action to support them.”
The loans, funded through the Measure K half-cent sales tax, will be available to farm owners who commit to bringing units up to code, maintaining below-market rents, and renting exclusively to low-income farmworkers and their families, officials said.
The program will roll out in two phases: the first focused on rehabilitating existing housing, and the second on building new units, depending on remaining funds, county officials noted.
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