The second Farmworker of the Year award will be presented at the West Coast Produce Expo later this month. In the latest episode of the “Tip of the Iceberg” podcast, LeAnne Ruzzamenti, director of marketing and communication for the Equitable Food Initiative shares why it’s important to recognize farmworkers and gives a sneak peek of what West Cost Produce Expo attendees can expect at the event.
Learn more about the West Coast Produce Expo and register at https://events.farmjournal.com/west-coast-produce-expo-2025
“We realized there was nothing specifically for front-line workers, and so this really felt like an excellent opportunity to do something that was completely new and that could focus on the people who are performing that skilled and hard work every single day, that are often called ‘the invisible workforce,’” she said. “It’s really great to just educate folks on an ongoing basis about the people that stand behind our food.
Ruzzamenti said farmworkers play a critical role in the fresh produce industry, noting “there’s no industry without farmworkers, and there’s no food without farmworkers.” And she said the Farmworker of the Year award helps spotlight the skilled work of farmworkers — from grafting in nurseries to picking fruits and vegetables to sorting produce in packinghouses.
“We need to recognize them and realize that this is skilled labor and do more than awareness for these folks,” she said. “We really need to invest in them — whether that’s their training or professional development.”
She said farmworkers are also the key to new technology introductions, and farms that don’t include farmworkers in that introduction often fail in adding new technology, but those operations that include farmworkers in the process are more successful.
“We’re really trying to push forth a dialogue where the minute we start thinking about introducing a new piece of technology, let’s make sure that the workers figure out how to adopt it and how to even create it and design it,” she said. “Without their input and their knowledge, you’re not necessarily going to be successful.”
Ruzzamenti said another wonderful thing about farmworkers is the care and dedication put into growing and harvesting healthy and nutritious food.
When it came to deciding the finalists for this year’s Farmworker of the Year nominees, Ruzzamenti called it an impossible task.
“We ask the industry to nominate farmworkers, and they show up in a big way,” she said. “We got over 50 nominees this year, and every story was special in its own right. You go through two levels of judging — the first to narrow it down and then to rank and choose a winner. Every story is inspirational and the one thing that really stood out to me this year was the tenure of all these folks who were nominated; there were people who worked 40, 50 years in the industry and when you read the nominations, they say they come to work every day with a smile on their face.”
Other characteristics Ruzzamenti said of those nominated included workers wanting to improve their skills through professional development, learning a new language, getting a driver’s license to contribute to the farm and going the extra mile for fellow colleagues.
This year the Equitable Food Initiative and The Packer will present the winner with a cash prize, which Ruzzamenti said was very important.
“EFI prides itself on our certification program in that a premium is paid on EFI-certified products, and that is in the form of a bonus,” she said. “We really believe that putting cash in farmworkers’ pockets versus some of the other certification programs out there so that they can use it in whatever way that they wish.”
As for who will win this year’s award? Join us in Palm Springs to find out. Register at https://events.farmjournal.com/west-coast-produce-expo-2025
