Improving worker safety and health is more than preventing slips and falls — critical though that may be.
It’s also warmup exercises before a shift. It’s picking up fruit from the floor. It’s safety meetings tailored for each department.
And it’s providing feminine products, like tampons and pads, in the restroom, or lockers for these supplies, so that female employees in the packinghouses don’t have to manage an uncomfortable walk across the facility from where their purses are stored in lockers to the restroom.
These are the kinds of improvements that employees can suggest or discuss when there’s an atmosphere of safety and openness at work, says Blanca Acosta, director of care and culture at Abundant Harvest Organics, which grows for Homegrown Organic Farms.
This “Tip of the Iceberg” podcast episode, with partner Equitable Food Initiative, delves into these changes, how they came about, why, and what a difference it can make. Listen here:
Acosta shares how taking care of your produce employees means listening to — and acting on — their day-to-day needs in their specific working environment.
In September, National Farm Safety & Health Week reminds us that agricultural work is dangerous, being prepared is key and that health and wellness is a broad topic that should be addressed under safety initiatives.
Listen: More episodes of “Tip of the Iceberg” podcast are available on The Packer.
