Free Communications Toolkit Helps to Highlight Farmworkers as #AlwaysEssential

Equitable Food Initiative, the workforce development and certification organization that partners with growers, farmworkers, retailers and consumer advocacy groups, is once again celebrating National Farmworker Awareness Week by encouraging growers, agricultural associations, state agriculture agencies, food companies, retailers and consumers to share messages honoring the farmworkers who give Americans access to high-quality, fresh and safe food every day of the year.

Farmworker Awareness Week is a designated opportunity for communities to bring attention to the millions of essential workers who grow, care for, harvest, pack and ship agricultural products. It highlights the important and #AlwaysEssential contributions they make to the food supply chain. This commemorative week is observed March 25-31, and everyone in the supply chain can participate by sharing the key messages and graphics provided in EFI's free communications toolkit available at www.equitablefood.org/FWAWtoolkit.

The past two years have brought growing awareness of the reality of essential workers and the challenges of supply chain woes, including the role of agriculture's frontline workers - the farmworkers. Today's consumers have taken a sincere interest in where their food comes from and the people who help get it from farm to table.

Nearly 2.5 million people work on farms and ranches and in greenhouses and packing facilities across the United Sates, performing hard and skilled labor and helping American farms add $136 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product.

EFI is encouraging food industry peers and consumers alike to speak with one voice and continue to 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 hashtag
Providing "live" content for social media channels featuring farmworker interviews detailing their jobs, safety precautions they take and the skills and knowledge they bring to their work
Asking state governors or legislative officials to draft a proclamation supporting 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
Industry peers from every area of agriculture can join Equitable Food Initiative in promoting Farmworker Awareness Week by downloading the communications toolkit, which includes ready-to-use graphics, logos, hashtags and messages. Agricultural and food industry members 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.

"Although supply chain challenges have wrought havoc on every industry, the skilled men and women of the food industry, including farmworkers, have shown us their fortitude and ability to rise to the occasion every day and keep our grocery store shelves stocked," said LeAnne Ruzzamenti, director of marketing communications for EFI. "The men and women of agriculture and the food industry bring a level of skilled professionalism that is truly essential and should be valued and celebrated by every consumer."

For more information on National Farmworker Awareness Week, please visit www.equitablefood.org/farmworkerawareness.

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 www.equitablefood.org/efi-certified-farms.