Mar 14, 2023

EFI honors farmworkers through awareness week

Equitable Food Initiative (EFI) is celebrating National Farmworker Awareness Week by encouraging everyone in the agricultural supply chain, including government entities and consumers, to share messages of appreciation for farmworkers.

The commemorative week is scheduled to be observed March 25-31, and those working in agriculture can participate by sharing the key messages and graphics provided in EFI’s free communications toolkit.

EFI, the workforce development and certification organization that partners with growers, farmworkers, retailers and consumer advocacy groups, has provided industry resources for the past several years to help call attention to the men and women who work hard to ensure Americans have access to fresh and nutritious food every day, according to a news release.

“National Farmworker Awareness Week is a call to action for communities to help raise awareness of the more than 2.5 million essential workers that plant, raise, grow, handle, harvest, pack and ship the food we consume,” EFI officials said in the release. “It emphasizes the important and #AlwaysEssential contributions they make to the food supply chain.”

The pandemic, followed by ongoing supply chain shortages and increasing food prices, continues to shine a light on the realities of the food supply chain, including agriculture’s frontline workers. Consumers continue to take a real interest in where their food comes from and in the workers who help bring that food from farm to table, according to the release.

EFI is encouraging agricultural industry members and consumers alike to speak as one voice and amplify the message that farmworkers are #AlwaysEssential by:

• Sharing the communications toolkit and information across the agricultural industry.
• Creating unique content or videos for social media highlighting Farmworker Awareness Week and using the #AlwaysEssential and #FarmworkerAwareness hashtags.
• Providing “live” content for social media channels featuring farmworker interviews that detail their jobs, safety precautions they take, and the skills and knowledge they bring to their work.
• Asking state governors or political officials to draft a proclamation supporting National Farmworker Awareness Week.
• Hosting events in celebration of farmworkers.
• Contacting local media and asking them to share information about the role of agriculture and farmworkers in local economies during Farmworker Awareness Week.
• Providing thank-you messages to farmworkers everywhere.

Agricultural and food industry members can join EFI in promoting National Farmworker Awareness Week by accessing the communications toolkit, which includes ready-to-use graphics, logos, hashtags and messages.

Participants are encouraged to create their own graphics from the easily customizable templates, as well as promote their organization, business or industry and tell their unique story. The kit also includes a new coloring page for children that serves as a thank-you note to farmworkers.