MICHIGAN (WKZO AM/FM) — Many of Michigan’s agricultural and food sector workers are exempt from a recently issued stay-home order, with the goal of ensuring continued access to food during the COVID-19 outbreak.
On Monday, March 23rd Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive order forcing all businesses to suspend operations and have employees work from home that are “not necessary to sustain or protect life”.
The “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, March 24th and continues until Monday, April 13th.
Included as “critical infrastructure workers” by the state government are hospital and healthcare staff, police, fire departments, emergency responders, public services, and child care workers among other critical sectors.
Despite the state mandated order, grocery stores and take-out restaurant operations will be able to remain open throughout the period, and some of their workers have also been designated essential personnel by the government.
At her Monday morning press conference Governor Whitmer said that keeping food supplies and services up with demand was considered a critically important activity by her administration.
“We’ve assured that essential services are still available, that if someone needs to go out an get food they can still do that,” said Whitmer. She also highlighted the importance of the food supply chain and said she hoped the exemptions would allow it to remain robust.
The governor’s order adheres to many of the guidelines issued by the Department of Homeland Security on who should be considered necessary to keep working.
Essential personnel are food and agricultural workers that:
- Work supporting groceries, pharmacies and other retail that sells food and beverage products
- Restaurant carry-out and quick-serve food operations; carry-out and delivery food employees
- Food manufacturer employees and their supplier employees
- Farm workers and support service workers to include those who field crops;
- Employees and firms supporting food, feed, and beverage distribution.
- Company cafeterias; in-plant cafeterias used to feed employees
- Workers in food testing labs in private industries and in institutions of higher education
- Workers essential for assistance programs and government payments
- Employees of companies engaged in the production of chemicals, medicines, vaccines, and other substances used by the food and agriculture industry.
- Workers who support the manufacture and distribution of forest products, including, but not limited to, timber, paper, and other wood products
- Employees engaged in the manufacture and maintenance of equipment and other infrastructure necessary to agricultural production and distribution
Since the governor announced the first two confirmed cases of COVID-19 on March 10th, grocery stores across the state have seen a shortage in some products such as milk, eggs, and bread as customers rush to buy the items.
Even with restaurants at limited capacity due to a temporary ban on dine-in services, food manufacturers and distributors have had a difficult time keeping up with the sudden consumer demand.
The Michigan Farm Bureau has come out in support of the governor’s exemptions for food and agricultural workers, noting that it will likely keep deliveries flowing to store shelves.
“As Gov. Whitmer continues to make informed decisions to implement additional necessary steps to mitigate COVID-19 exposure for our citizens, we want to reaffirm the commitment of the food and agriculture sector to continue providing consumers a safe and reliable supply of products,” said Michigan Farm Bureau President Carl Bednarski in a released statement.
