Waiting and Hoping

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Waiting and Hoping

Cortez Day Labor center a lifeline for those in need of work
Anna Bousquet
Jeff Schrage tosses cans into a bin for recycling at the Cortez Day Labor center. Schrage and a number of others, have consistently gone to day labor for weeks hoping to find work.

Waiting and Hoping

Anna Bousquet
Jeff Schrage tosses cans into a bin for recycling at the Cortez Day Labor center. Schrage and a number of others, have consistently gone to day labor for weeks hoping to find work.
Community garden at day labor office

Last summer, the men and women who came to the Cortez Day Labor center did more than just wait for calls to come in. They went to work right outside the office and built a community garden. They didn’t make money but it was a rewarding project nonetheless. People who came looking for work, toiled in the garden in the spring and summer. The garden produced a variety of fruits and vegetables at harvest time. Day Labor Manager Anna Bousquet said it was a fun project. The food produced by the garden was given to local soup kitchens, and the potato harvest led to a little profit at the farmers market, which allowed them to purchase items for the center. Workers even used pumpkins from the garden to make pumpkin pies for the soup kitchens. The garden, which utilizes wood-framed rows, is ready to get a jump on another garden party later this spring.
— Dale Shrull

Day Labor 411

The Cortez Day Labor Center is located at 2405 E. Empire St., across Highway 145 in Cortez.
Information: Perspective employers and workers can contact the office at 565-9109.
Hours: 7 to 11 a.m. Monday-Friday
Workers are available for weekend jobs but arrangements must be made during regular office hours.