Rouge River Farms, a sweet corn grower in Florida, Georgia, Virginia and Ontario, has all of its U.S. operations certified by the Equitable Food Initiative.
EFI works with growers and retailers to create a more transparent food chain, safer food and healthier places to work.
“EFI is so much more than an audit. It is a holistic approach that transforms the way workers interact,” Margaret Stuart, Rouge River senior compliance manager, said in a news release. “After the EFI Leadership Team training, I saw an increase in productivity among the workers in our facility. I saw their behaviors and expectations of one another change and saw that they were taking more pride in their work.”
Rouge River’s corn is at select Costco Wholesale locations east of the Mississippi River. Farmworkers receive a bonus from each purchase.
In its first four years of operation, EFI has worked with 21 grower-shippers on 64 farm locations, covering 38 produce commodities and affecting more than 33,000 farmworkers, according to the release.
Related news:
- Equitable Food Initiative adds Ethical Charter Addendum to standards
- Equitable Food Initiative receives $1.2 million grant from Walmart
- EFI hires Rebecca Chavez in business development roll
