Farmworkers feed the world, and from March 25 through March 31, we honor their contributions to our daily lives and raise awareness for the issues they face. 85% of the fresh fruit and vegetables we consume are hand-picked, and, at Seward Co-op, we like to remind ourselves and shoppers about the real cost of food, including the difficult—and often dangerous—work that goes into growing and harvesting the food that keeps our communities healthy.

Farmworkers deserve dignity and protection. There are an estimated three million farmworkers, including adults and children, that labor in the field in the United States. As our planet heats up and the climate changes, farmworkers suffer from high rates of heat exhaustion. Additionally, on non-organic and large-scale commercial farms that utilize pesticides, the workers who harvest and grow our food experience high rates of injuries due to the chemicals sprayed on plants to keep them pest and blight-free. Long hours in the fields lead to skin issues, urinary tract infections, and other bodily harm, not to mention time away from loved ones.

Unfortunately, farmworkers are not protected legally in the same way as many other people are in different industries. Joining a union, fair pay, and/or insurance are not guaranteed. Only as recently as 1978 were minimum wages mandated for farmworkers—and that’s exclusive to large-scale farms. It is our duty as a community of cooperators to rally in support of farmworkers locally and across the globe.

Further Resources

STUDENT ACTION WITH FARMWORKERS’ WEBSITE

• Follow Student Action with Farmworkers on Instagram to stay up to date on their campaigns and get involved this National Farmworker Awareness Week.
• Visit the National Farm Worker Ministry legislative action site. Here, you can view current legislation that will impact farmworkers, including the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment and Farm Safety (CARE Act). Learn more about the bill and find information to use to write to your representatives. According to Congress.gov there are currently no MN Representatives cosponsoring the bill.
• Learn more about laws surrounding child labor in agricultural employment.
• Read about and support Alianza Nacional de Campesinas (National Alliance of Farmworker Women), the first national women farmworkers’ nonprofit in the U.S. created by current and former women farmworkers, along with women who hail from farmworker families. Their advocacy efforts are focused on the intersection of gender, migrant, labor and climate justice—working for sustainable and healthy communities where farmworkers and their families can live well and thrive. National Co-op Grocers, of which Seward Co-op is a member, contributed to la Alianza’s Mother Earth Project, a campaign for farmworkers to gain access to unused land for community gardens as well as federal advocacy efforts to strengthen farmworker protections against pesticide exposure.
• Watch this short video from an intern with Student Action with Farmworkers and her family sharing what it is like working in agriculture in North Carolina.