By Jason Anderson

The Record, Stockton, Calif.

STOCKTON, Calif — Pattie Lewis hasn’t applied for a job in nearly two decades.

For the past 18 years, Lewis has been employed by Hormel Foods Corp., where she works as a tamale cook. Lewis, 52, said she was stunned when she learned that Hormel would close its Stockton processing plant by the end of February.

“You’ve been employed for this many years, so it’s like, ‘What do I do?’ “ Lewis said. “Everything around you has changed, so how do I get back out there? Can I? At my age?”

Representatives from a number of organizations were on hand to answer employees’ questions Saturday during a meeting held at the Local 601 Teamsters Union office in Stockton. Organizations that sent representatives to distribute information to employees included San Joaquin County WorkNet, the Employment Development Department and Covered California, said Pablo Barrera, a business agent for Teamsters Local 601, who said about 80 Hormel workers attended the meeting.

“The idea was to give everybody the information so they know who can assist them with unemployment and everything else when the plant closes,” Barrera said. “Some of the people have 1970-something hiring dates. They’ve been with Hormel for a long time, so that’s all they know. Some are going into retirement, but we have a lot of workers who still need to work. They need to get another job and continue to put food on the table.”

Hormel announced in November that, due to falling profits, it would close its Stockton plant after about 65 years producing canned meats made in San Joaquin County. Hormel’s grocery products division, which includes Hormel chili, Dinty Moore beef stew and other products made in Stockton, experienced a 21-percent decline in profits in the fiscal quarter that ended Oct. 26.