In working to fulfill its mission, Equitable Food Initiative (EFI) aims to lift and amplify farmworker voices. By producing engaging videos that showcase the resilience, dedication, and highly skilled contributions of farmworkers, EFI hopes to foster empathy, inspire change and bring about a greater understanding of farmworkers’ experiences.
The concept was developed and implemented by EFI’s leadership team committee, which advises the EFI board of directors and is made up of farmworkers and managers from EFI-certified farms. The committee worked with their farming operations and coworkers to develop the video series to educate and raise awareness of the realities of being a farmworker, especially among retailers who pay a small premium on EFI-certified produce that is returned to workers as a bonus. Each video depicts a typical day of the featured farmworkers, their challenges, triumphs, and personal motivations. The first video in the series 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.
The video series had a significant impact and was highly successful. We received over 1000 views on both videos on YouTube, and on our social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter, we received over 10,000 views and reactions. The feedback we received from our followers was overwhelmingly positive, and we can see that there is a newfound recognition for the hard work of farmworkers and the need to be accountable for all the people and processes involved in bringing fresh produce to our tables. Feedback from retailers was also positive, citing the ingenuity and creativity of workers in developing and delivering this important message.
