From March 25th to 31st, we join a nationwide initiative to honor the labor and resilience of farmworkers while also drawing attention to the inequities they continue to face. Although this is a process we are consistently engaged in, National Farmworker Awareness Week provides a focused week to call attention to these issues for our students, guests, and community members.
This NFAW, we are honored to partner more closely with Student Action with Farmworkers (SAF), the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that founded National Farmworker Awareness Week back in 1998. Since the organization was founded in 1992, SAF has harnessed the organizing power of students to improve conditions for farmworkers and their families, expand access to resources, and build diverse coalitions working for social change.
SAF’s programs are built to provide educational access and resources for farmworkers as well as leadership training for students, including the Levante Leadership Institute and several internship programs for students to gain experience with advocacy and organizing efforts. These initiatives not only provide critical support for farmworkers but are also cultivating the next generation of advocates.
SAF launched National Farmworker Awareness Week in 1998 as a national week of action to inform and mobilize students, community members, and partner organizations. During NFAW, campuses and institutions across the United States host events, educational programming, and advocacy efforts to highlight farmworker issues and elevate their voices.
A Longstanding Commitment
Bon Appétit Management Company is committed to using our platform to support the fight for farmworkers’ rights. For over a decade, we have partnered with SAF to celebrate National Farmworker Awareness Week to increase awareness of the progress and continued struggles of the movement to protect the rights of farmworkers, as well as our purchasing commitments prioritizing fair labor practices. During NFAW and throughout the year, we work to raise awareness within our communities about the importance of farmworkers’ rights, following the lead of organizations on the ground driving this movement.
After decades of organization and advocacy, significant challenges remain for farmworkers due to exclusion from labor protections, harsh working conditions, and political vulnerabilities. We will continue to use our platform to spotlight the good work being done by SFA and many other groups to demand justice for the people working in this field.
Get Inspired, Get Involved
We recently spoke with SAF Executive Director Sylvia Zapata, exploring the organization’s history, impact, and hopes for the future. As she highlighted 28 years of NFAW, she spoke to a key belief that has fueled their work since the beginning.
At SAF we do not approach our work as subject matter experts on everything. Instead, we work on the fundamental notion that we all come equipped with the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to create change. -Sylvia Zapata
“By working together, we can come up with solutions to the problems our communities face. For students from farmworker and working-class families, whose experiences have been marginalized and painted with a brush highlighting strife and suffering, connecting to their experiences from a position of power makes all the difference in strengthening the confidence of students to be principal actors in the farmworker justice movement, the overall social justice movement, and in their communities,” she says.
You can learn more about SAF by signing up for their newsletter for current events as well as opportunities to participate in their work. Invite them to come speak at your campus, workplace, or organization on topics related to farmworker justice by making a request here. Lastly, you can follow SAF on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook.
