KFH and the Equitable Food Initiative
In the United States, nearly 15% of the general population is considered food insecure, with ethnic minorities, particularly Latinos, experiencing disproportionately higher rates of hunger. Closer to home for us at KFH, it is particularly upsetting to find out that food insecurity is commonplace among the migrant and seasonal farmworker population. For example, one study from Georgia completed in 2011 found that 63% of migrant and seasonal workers surveyed struggled to feed themselves and their families (1.).
We've partnered with the Equitable Food Initiative (EFI) as part of our mission to include more equitable, transparent, and responsible labor practices into The Future of Farming in Kentucky. We are committed to earning EFI certification because we value all of our farmworkers and believe they are deserving of a healthy, inclusive and safe workplace. The EFI program empowers each worker and allows them to receive the support they need while we team up to provide the freshest, healthiest, most sustainable produce. Part of our pledge is offering a living wage to all farmworkers, adequate training and growth opportunities, several channels of communication for support and transparency, ensuring safe working conditions, and providing for our farmworkers in all possible ways.
The EFI Responsibly Grown, Farmworker Assured® label stands for keeping you, our customers, at the forefront in everything we do. When you see the Responsibly Grown, Farmworker Assured® label from Equitable Food Initiative, you know that you are eating vegetables grown under the highest standards in the industry for working conditions and food safety. By creating a workplace where farmworkers take pride in their job, have opportunities for growth and understand how much we value their contributions, and from our commitment to safety and to the success of all of our employees, the customer receives a premier quality product.
Investments in social responsibility programs like the Equitable Food Initiative certification program have a significant positive impact not only in the individual lives of farmworkers, but also bring real awareness to the issues faced by farmworkers worldwide and are a positive effort towards removing these barriers and inequalities. With an emphasis on training, we are cultivating leadership, communication and problem-solving skills within the organization, while driving innovation and improving efficiency. It is one of the many ways we pay tribute to the farmworkers that are hard at work daily to feed the rest of us. When our farmworkers benefit, we all receive the fruits of their labor.
National Farmworker Awareness Week is March 25th - 31st. It is an opportunity to celebrate farmworkers, thank them for all they do to feed us, and to bring awareness to the challenges they face.
https://www.farmworkerjustice.org/blog-post/hunger-amidst-plenty-food-assistance-in-farmworker-communities/