Statera Cellars, Meredith Bell

One of the biggest goals for us in 2022 was to help our vineyard workers navigate and potentially sign up for health insurance. The biggest hurdle I ran into is that without actually offering the insurance myself, they really could not afford insurance, even if it was subsidized. The family that helps us in the vineyard only works part time, a few months of the year, and it is unfeasible for us to offer health insurance to part-time, temporary employees. They make too much money to qualify for free insurance, but not enough to pay anything out of pocket. Luckily, their children qualify for free insurance, so at least some of the family has coverage. In truth, they did not show great interest in health insurance, as I think it's just seen as an extra expense that cannot be afforded.  And it made me feel uncomfortable to try to push my values onto them. So, I feel stuck. If there are others that have dealt with this, and have found a solution, I would be very interested to connect with them. 

One goal that we did meet was making time and space to do volunteer work. Our small company does not have any full-time or year-round employees, so it only applies to the two owners, but we did make time to volunteer in our community this year. I worked with an organization called Unite Oregon which fights for social justice by empowering people, and Luke worked a few local LGBTQ+ orgs, helping with various events throughout the year.