If there’s one, unifying theme throughout the COVID-19 pandemic—beyond the importance of social distancing, hand washing, and mask wearing—it’s that food and farmworkers are critically important and critically under-supported.

From farm fields to slaughterhouses to grocery stores, the people who grow, pick, process, and sell our food are among those most affected by the pandemic. And they have always been essential.

Civil Eats has regularly explored the challenges food and farmworkers are facing, as well as solutions that are being put to work to address them.

This Labor Day, we look back at some of our coverage from the past six months. Taken together, these stories show that, overall, very little has improved—and in some cases, conditions are getting worse.

But in addition to reporting on the challenges that food and farmworkers face, Civil Eats has also covered people and organizations around the country working to better support and protect the workers that keep the U.S. food system running, and us fed.

Grocery Store Workers—’Heroes to the Community’ During Coronavirus—to Get Hazard Pay
Working long hours at great risk of exposure, thousands of grocery store workers are being recognized as essential with a pay raise.

The Pandemic Isn’t Easing Up, but Frontline Food Workers Are Already Losing Bonus Pay
As parts of the U.S. economy reopen and food demand remains high, some companies are ending ‘hero’ and ‘hazard’ bonuses.

Farmworkers Are in the Coronavirus Crosshairs
Farmworkers work, live, and travel in crowded conditions, and are being allowed few if any safety measures against COVID-19—which puts them and the food system at risk.

Poor Conditions at Meatpacking Plants Have Long Put Workers at Risk. The Pandemic Makes it Much Worse.
Plant closures due to coronavirus outbreaks—and deaths—among workers underscore existing problems.

Black-Owned Restaurants in Detroit Are Hard Hit by the Pandemic
After decades of structural racism, the city’s Black restaurateurs are facing both health and economic crises.

Undocumented Restaurant Workers Have Held the Industry Together. Now They Stand to Lose the Most.
Long working in invisible positions, and at risk for coronavirus and deportation, the undocumented often hesitate to seek support.

Food Service Workers Are on the Brink of a Mental Health Crisis. These Efforts are Helping.
Newly unemployed and frontline food workers are struggling with depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. Nationwide, efforts are underway to encourage and provide mental health support.

OSHA Faulted for Not Doing More to Protect Workers from COVID-19
A record number of food and farmworkers are falling sick and dying from coronavirus. Advocates blame the federal agency for failing to set mandatory worker safety standards.

One Fair Wage Wants to Help Reopen Restaurants—and Change How They Pay Workers
In partnership with New York City, the organization is offering grants to 100 family-run restaurants forced to close due to COVID-19, with the goal of raising wages and increasing equity.

It’s Now Legal for Home Chefs in California to Sell Meals. Will More Cities Get on Board?
Home chefs, including many newly unemployed restaurant workers, have seen a surge of business during the pandemic. A new state law could help bring their meals to many more people—if it’s adopted more widely.

How Essential Food Workers Are Fighting Back
With lawsuits and the civil rights complaints, advocates are taking concrete steps to prevent risking workers’ lives for the sake of company profits.

Isolated in Crowded Conditions, Guest Farmworkers Face High Coronavirus Toll
Workers on H2-A visas are being hard hit by COVID-19 because they work in large groups, know little about their rights in the U.S., and live in remote camps and other communal housing cut off from outside resources.

USDA Seeks to Permanently Speed up Poultry Plant Line Speeds
Food safety advocates say the move, despite COVID-19 risks and longstanding worker safety concerns, is due to industry influence at the agency.

The Iowa Derecho Put Refugee Food Workers at Even Greater Risk
The hurricane-force winds that leveled Cedar Rapids have impacted hundreds of refugees who were considered ‘essential workers’ at meatpacking plants and supermarkets.

A Battle over Mandatory Farmworker Testing Reveals a Broken System
Michigan just instituted the most far-reaching protections for farmworkers, but some farmers went to court to scrap them.

Read all of our coverage in our Food and Farm Labor section.