May 9, 2022Farmworker Awareness Week drives public knowledge, participation
Farmworker Awareness Week was successful for Equitable Food Initiative, the workforce development and certification organization that partners with growers, farmworkers, retailers and consumer groups. The second year of promoting Farmworker Awareness Week generated more than 1.5 million social impressions and caught the attention of politicians, government agencies and businesses.
“There are more than 2.5 million farmworkers that grow, care for, harvest, pack and ship food to ensure a healthy supply chain and nutrition for this nation,” LeAnne Ruzzamenti, EFI’s director of marketing communications, said in a news release. “Farmworker Awareness Week is one small opportunity to shine a light on these skilled, always-essential workers and their many contributions.”
EFI provided a communications toolkit to support organizations around the country in highlighting #AlwaysEssential workers and all they do for the nation’s food supply chain.
Social media posts garnered 1.5 million impressions and thousands of engagements. Use of the EFI toolkit and graphics, along with coordinated hashtags #FarmworkerAwarenessWeek and #AlwaysEssential, produced popular posts around the agriculture industry from dairies like Foremost Farms USA and produce companies like Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce/GoodFarms, Stemilt Growers and NatureSweet Tomatoes.
Contributions to Farmworker Awareness Week included many unique posts from political leaders, government agencies, nonprofits and higher education institutions. Proclamations from the governors of Indiana, Vermont and New York highlighted the role and contributions of farmworkers in their states.
Organizations including Farmworker Justice, National Farm to School Network, Oregon Department of Agriculture, University of New Mexico, Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Pesticide Action Network North America also found creative ways to engage their followers.
To raise awareness and collect clothing, food and school supplies for farmworker communities, Student Action with Farmworkers mobilized partners around the country. Those efforts involved the University of Idaho, Washington State University, New York University, Valdosta State University and Johns Hopkins’ Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Although Farmworker Awareness Week spans only a few days, EFI and its partners work every day of the year to raise standards for farmworkers. Awareness is just the first step toward bringing equity to farmworkers and elevating the quality of the food supply chain, according to the release.
EFI 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 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.
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