Lola Loustaunau

2021-22 Graduate Research Fellow
Sociology

Lola Loustaunau is a graduate student in the UO Department of Sociology. Her research project, “The Hands That Feed Us: Analyzing the Impacts of COVID-19 on Immigrant Food Processing Workers," examines how the pandemic has affected migrant workers’ economic stability, emotional health, family well-being, and carework demands in the Pacific Northwest. It also considers cases of collective organizing as workers navigate assistance programs to access benefits, demand increased protections in their workplaces, and struggle for community survival. This research contributes to achieving a sustainable food supply chain in the United States by centering the experiences of frontline workers who are most affected by policy decisions and documenting the high price of cheap food for those who produce it.