WASHINGTON – This month, Equitable Food Initiative, the workforce development and training organization that partners with growers, farmworkers, retailers and consumer advocacy groups, is marking National Farmworker Awareness Week by encouraging growers and consumers to share messages honoring the farmworkers that make it possible for Americans to have access to high-quality, fresh and safe fruits and vegetables.
National Farmworker Awareness Week is a designated week of action for communities to bring attention to the multiple challenges farmworkers face, as well as to honor the important contributions farmworkers make to daily life. The week is typically celebrated the last week of March, falling on March 25-31, 2020.
EFI and its partners will use National Farmworker Awareness Week to further EFI’s mission to create a more transparent food chain, safer food and healthier places to work for the men and women who produce, care for and harvest fresh fruits and vegetables. EFI also encourages growers and consumers to recognize the contributions of workers via social media posts using #FarmworkerAssured and #FarmworkerAwareness. More information can be found at https://equitablefood.org/NFAW.
“Consumers want to know more about where their food comes from, and National Farmworker Awareness Week provides a great vehicle for growers to highlight the hard work it takes to stock fresh produce departments across the country,” stated LeAnne Ruzzamenti, director of marketing communications for EFI. “And beyond this designated week, growers can provide the transparency consumers seek by highlighting the people, processes and safety measures required to produce a safe, quality product.
“At EFI, it is our aim to honor and highlight the hard work farmworkers accomplish daily and to raise the standards to create healthier, safer working conditions,” continued Ruzzamenti. “It is in everyone’s best interest that growers develop comprehensive training programs and provide safe conditions for farmworkers, as in the end, high-quality produce comes from workers who are treated well and are trained to meet the highest safety standards.”
About EFI
Equitable Food Initiative is a nonprofit certification and skill-building organization that seeks to increase transparency in the food supply chain and improve the lives of farmworkers through a team-based approach to training and continuous improvement practices. EFI brings together growers, farmworkers, retailers and consumers to solve the most pressing issues facing the fresh produce industry. Its unparalleled approach sets standards for labor practices, food safety and pest management while engaging workers at all levels on the farm to produce Responsibly Grown, Farmworker Assured® fruits and vegetables. For more information about Equitable Food Initiative, visit www.equitablefood.org.
View a list of EFI-certified farms at https://equitablefood.org/efi-certified-farms/.
