During a previous crackdown on undocumented labor in the early 2000s, several very large catering industry vendors were forced to cancel orders due to their own personnel shortages. This had a cascading effect on the caterers they work with, forcing some cancellations of events.”
perhaps just as crucial, are the immigrants who work in agriculture, meatpacking, and poultry processing. Many or most of these immigrants take jobs that most native-born Americans will not fill. There are several reasons for this: low pay, difficult working conditions, seasonality, and comparisons to what they might be expected to do in their home countries. The National Agricultural Workers Survey conducted from 2019–2020 indicates that 70% of U.S. crop farmworkers are not native born. Of this group, it is estimated that about two-thirds are undocumented, and therefore subject to deportation. Widespread loss of this farmworker cohort could be catastrophic for the catering industry, due to the increased cost of domestic agriculture products, added to the presumptive tariffs currently being levied on other food imports. According to the USDA, a similar ratio of workers in meat and poultry processing are undocumented— around 50%. While many farms are owned by individuals and families, meat and poultry processing plants are generally owned by large food conglomerates. Presumably these corporations would prefer to have a 100% documented labor force. The fact that they do not would seem to indicate that it is just not possible in the rural areas where most of these plants are located. Basic economic theory states that a shortage of labor will tend to
drive up prices—as such mass deportations will likely add to
growth of the catering industry for the immediate future. When we ask caterers which factors impact their ability to take on additional business, already most will say availability of staff. Limits on both legal and illegal immigration could exacerbate this problem. Vendor staff Many catering industry vendors and suppliers also depend on immigrant labor. These include crucial primary vendors such as rental and tent companies, venues, and local food purveyors. Some event staffing agencies are also widely staffed with immigrants. The types of positions filled by these personnel include drivers, set up staff, cleaners, and food prep staff. During a previous crackdown on undocumented labor in the early 2000s, several very large catering industry vendors were forced to cancel orders due to their own personnel shortages. This had a cascading effect on the caterers they work with, forcing some cancellations of events. Needless to say, this is an outcome that caterers wish to avoid. Grower/processor/ manufacturer staff An additional degree of separation from caterers’ local vendors, but
inflation. The U.S.-born workforce is already close to fully employed, and immigrants are willing to take on lower status jobs that the native- born workforce is not. Additionally, the vast majority of undocumented workers are taxpayers, contributing to Social Security and Medicare even though they are unlikely to ever collect from these programs. There is a case to be made that the U.S. borders need to be secured to diminish drug and human smuggling, and convicted criminals need to be deported to their countries of origin. However,
it also needs to be recognized that widespread expulsions of immigrants will diminish the
standard of living of the native born who remain in the country, primarily because of inflation. The catering industry will be among those most directly impacted if this happens.
Carl Sacks has spent more than 17 years as a consultant to the catering industry, starting at Catersource , and
currently as the managing member of Certified Catering Consultants. His list of clients includes many of the most prominent and successful caterers in the industry.
CATERSOURCE ■ SUMMER 2025
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