In this episode of the “Tip of the Iceberg” podcast, Brianna Shales, marketing director for Stemilt Growers, joins LeAnne Ruzzamenti, director of marketing and communication for the Equitable Food Initiative, to highlight the contributions of farmworkers.
Stemilt is a returning sponsor of the Equitable Food Initiative for the Farmworker of the Year award, along with EFI and The Packer, which is now accepting applications.
“As we all know farmworkers — whether they’re out in the field or in our packing locations and warehouses — they are there. It takes many hands to get our fruit to market, and they are the reason that occurs every single day, so to be able to spotlight the best of the best in the industry is very special for us at Stemilt,” Shales said. “It ties directly into the reason we exist, which is to cultivate people and delight consumers, and without the people doing this work, we don’t get to delight consumers, and so this is a great way to shine the light and cultivate them.”
Shales said one of Stemilt’s employees, 2024 Farmworker of the Year finalist Andres Aguilar, worked hard to continue to make the company a better place. Shales said the Stemilt team worked with supervisors on the farms and packing locations to help nominate Aguilar.
Next month will mark Farmworker Awareness Week, which runs March 25-31. An online toolkit from EFI offers press releases, proclamations for local politicians, posters and social media graphics. Shales said it’s a great way to take the time to recognize the collective work of farmworkers.
“I think what is fun is to be able to really see the collective of stories that are shared during that week and also some of data, the numerical side behind the impact that farm workers have [on the industry],” she said. “There’s a lot of people out there, consumers especially, that just don’t understand. So, the more that we can shed light on it the better.”
Shales said the Stemilt team is hard at work to plan how the company will highlight the role of farmworkers during Farmworker Awareness Week.
“The more that we can [help] people understand what goes into crafting our products and growing fresh fruits and vegetables, the more that we can hopefully inspire them to eat more of them,” Shales said. “It’s a unique product where people are intimately involved in bringing it to a grocery store, and so the stories that can be shared within that are very helpful in [making] people understanding ... when they enjoy those things across the table and how that connects to a broader society.”
