Farmworkers open up about their experiences in new video series

Farmworkers are sharing an inside look at their daily lives — including challenges and triumphs — through a video series presented by the Equitable Food Initiative.

The concept was developed and implemented by EFI’s leadership team committee, which advises the EFI board of directors and comprises farmworkers and managers from EFI-certified farms, according to a news release. The committee worked with farming operations and co-workers to create the series to educate and raise awareness about the realities of being a farmworker. 

The debut of “A Day in the Life of a Farmworker” coincides with Farmworker Awareness Week, March 25-31. The series can be viewed on EFI's website.

Two videos each depict a typical day for the featured farmworkers, telling their experiences and personal motivations, according to the release. The first video follows a single mother and strawberry harvester in California, and the second video features a married couple who both work as quality control reviewers at a strawberry farm in Mexico.

The series is designed to highlight some of the special challenges farmworkers face as well as the benefits they’ve experienced working on EFI-certified farms, according to the release. Video production was led by workers at growing operations for Andrew & William Fresh Produce and GoodFarms, EFI said.

“We understand the power of bringing the workers’ voices and real-life stories directly to our customers and consumers,” Amalia Lommel, director of social responsibility for GoodFarms, said in the release. “We love seeing this kind of initiative and collaboration from our workers and are always delighted to help highlight the skills and essential work they do every day.”

The workers involved in the video series include:

Buenaventura Ranch video

• Carlos Alberto Lazaro, harvester — videographer and interviewer.
• Juan Gutierrez Lopez, H-2A harvest machine operator — videographer and interviewer.
• Yesica Angeles Guzman, harvester at Buenaventura Ranch — interviewee.

Rancho Nuevo video

• Maria Sáenz Ruiz, quality control assistant — videographer and interviewer.
• Cuauhtémoc Palacios Sánchez, quality control reviewer — interviewee.
• Ana Eugenio Dolores, quality control review — interviewee.

“Members of the leadership team committee wanted to bring their own stories of their daily lives to consumers and retail buyers in hopes that more people would understand their struggles, value their skills and support their work with the EFI certification program,” Alice Linsmeier, organizational and workforce development manager for EFI who works with the leadership team committee, said in the release. “It was inspiring to work closely with the worker-led video teams at each ranch to develop and capture the stories they felt most compelling.” 

Other grower-shippers can also highlight farmworkers and their stories by joining EFI in promoting National Farmworker Awareness Week using a free communications toolkit, which includes ready-to-use graphics, logos, hashtags and messages. Participants are encouraged to create their own graphics from the customizable templates, as well as promote their organization, business or industry and tell their unique story.

EFI is a nonprofit certification and workforce development organization that partners with growers, farmworkers, retailers and consumer groups. It works with 22 grower-shipper companies on more than 60 farming operations.

Through the EFI program, more than 4,000 farmworkers and managers have been trained in problem-solving, communication and conflict resolution practices that are improving labor, food safety and pest management standards for more than 55,000 workers, according to the release.

More information about EFI is available at equitablefood.org.