In Migrant Worker Camps, Wifi Is a Basic Utility

Ashley Thompson, Fruit Horticulturalist at Oregon State University Extension Service in Wasco County, administered a survey to local orchardists to gauge interest in Wi-Fi hot spots. In response to orchardists’ interest in wifi, Dave Anderson, City of The Dalles Public Works Director, asked community businesses for help. Google, which operates a large data center in The Dalles and makes grants that provide internet access to underserved communities, responded with $12,600. This funding helped purchase 21 hot spots and six Chromebooks for farmworkers to use throughout orchards in Wasco County. RadComp, a local IT Company, installed the hot spots for free. To accommodate areas without cell service, which the hot spots require, another local company tried to provide Wi-Fi signal though their system of tower-based internet services, but the topography proved too unforgiving. Community leaders are now looking into satellite internet services. But with only a couple more weeks left in the cherry harvest season, they are now assessing the level of need among the orchardists. Meanwhile, the hot spots in orchards with cell service are working.

[Judy Bankman is an Oregon-based consultant and freelance writer focusing on issues of public health, health equity, and sustainable food systems]