Equitable Food Initiative, the certification organization that partners with growers, farmworkers, retailers and consumer groups, says the Walmart Foundation awarded it a $1.2 million grant. EFI said this latest grant is its fourth from the Walmart Foundation and will help support administration of the Ethical Charter Implementation Program.
EFI said this funding will enable it to accelerate industry adoption of ECIP and add new components for farm labor contractors and workers on the ECIP Learn, Access and Benchmark— or LAB —platform.
“The latest grant from the Walmart Foundation is key to widening ECIP’s impact and creating new engagement paths for [farm labor contractors] and workers,” Peter O’Driscoll, executive director of EFI, said in a news release. “[Farm labor contractors] manage a significant portion of the field workforce, so expanding ECIP to align their practices with the Ethical Charter is a vital step that can have a tremendous industrywide impact on workers.”
EFI said it will focus on three objectives during the grant period:
- Increase ECIP participation — EFI said it plans to help bridge communication between retailers, buyers, suppliers and growers to underscore the importance and use of the program.
- Launch FLC LAB — EFI said this new component of the LAB platform will help farm labor contractors improve labor management systems, similar to the support growers receive through the Grower LAB. Growers will enhance their ECIP engagement profiles when their farm labor contractors use the platform.
- Integrating worker tools and surveys into ECIP — EFI will incorporate worker-accessible tools and surveys into the LAB platform to empower workers to understand the principles of the Ethical Charter and assess whether they experience its protections. The new Worker LAB component of ECIP will also provide growers with valuable tools to gain insights into how management systems can be more effectively implemented in the field.
“ECIP is quickly becoming the connector for many continuous improvement programs for labor practices in the produce industry,” Gavin Bailey, senior manager of sustainability at Walmart Foundation, said in a news release. “Expanding ECIP to include farm labor contractors and direct input from workers is a critical step in fully aligning the produce industry with the Ethical Charter.”
O’Driscoll said the integration of worker input will bring vital labor voices into ECIP.
“We’re thrilled to provide workers with the ability to assess labor practices in their workplace,” he said. “The core of EFI’s work is to engage workers throughout the supply chain, and their participation in ECIP will bring more insights to help employers on their continuous improvement journey.”
