Office of Rural & Farmworker Housing (ORFH)

The seeds of the entity that was to become the Office of Rural & Farmworker Housing (ORFH) were planted in 1977, when Northwest Rural Opportunities (NRO) hired a Housing Program Coordinator in Grandview, WA to develop a farmworker housing project in Granger, WA. The concept was compelling—ensure that those willing to work hard in agriculture, one of the most dangerous and essential industries, could afford decent housing and still have enough money to meet their basic needs. The project won initial funding from Rural America in Washington, DC.

This model proved that when working people have a safe and stable place to call home, it enhances their efforts to build better lives for themselves and their families over the long term. Things went so well that Rural America provided additional funding, and in 1978, ORFH began to develop its own identity—first as an informal association under the NRO wing, with an advisory council and a newly established office in Olympia as well as a move of the original Coordinator from Grandview to an office within the Yakima Housing Authority’s then E. 8th Street, Yakima location. ORFH came into its own as a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization in 1979.

ORFH celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2019, and since that time, its essential work continues despite COVID-19. To date, ORFH has worked with a variety of nonprofit and public housing authority sponsors across rural Washington state, developing more than 2,100 units of affordable, quality housing that, when fully occupied, provide nearly 11,000 individuals with a safe, decent, stable, and affordable place to live. Through ORFH’s efforts, more than $270 million in public and private resources have been invested in local communities, creating hundreds of construction jobs and numerous ancillary benefits like improved health and better educational attainment. In addition to supporting the health, safety and wellbeing of farmworkers and their families, the provision of affordable housing for this critical workforce is a major contributing factor in reducing the potential for labor shortages in an industry so many rural Washington communities depend upon for their livelihoods.

ORFH is headquartered at 1400 Summitview Avenue, #203 in Yakima, WA and continues to develop affordable, quality housing throughout rural Washington state—for permanent, year round farmworkers as well as seasonal workers, senior citizens (including those with disabilities), veterans, and other low-income people. ORFH works tirelessly to advocate for housing for rural areas, seek partnerships to execute innovative solutions to such issues as the aging of existing development portfolios, and educate decision-makers about policies and programs and their impact on the delivery of affordable housing.