National Farmworker Awareness Week is March 25-31, 2025. This week draws attention to the incredible, and often invisible contributions farmers make to our daily way of life. We spoke with our colleagues at Co-op Partners Warehouse to further illuminate Farmworker Awareness Week, farms that go above and beyond, and what we can do as consumers to support fair living and working conditions for the growers we buy from.

What is Farmworker Awareness Week?

“Our American food system is a global food system. With a supply chain so large and beyond our reach, there is little to no visibility to the human cost of getting food on the shelves at this scale. Farmworker Awareness week is about unearthing the stories and the people behind the food we eat – the beauty and the power, but also the harm and the exploitation. Farmworker Awareness week is also about recognizing our role as consumers in the food system. We have the ability to shape a better food system future by getting to know the farmers who grow our food and making conscious choices around what we buy and where we buy it.” – Mackenzie Burke, Produce Buyer, Co-op Partners Warehouse

Why are issues like living wages, environmental and chemical hazards, safe and affordable housing, and food access for farmworkers still issues in our country?

“The American food system as we know it today was built upon the enslavement of generations African people. Capitalism is built upon exploitation of the working class, and today, farm workers bear the brunt of that in order to keep food costs artificially low. Furthermore, when the Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA) was passed in 1938 to establish a federal minimum wage, overtime, and child labor prohibitions, it excluded agricultural labor. To this day, many farm workers who harvest fruits and vegetables are paid by the amount of product they harvest, and therefore are exempt from minimum wage and overtime provisions in the FSLA.” – Joleen Baker, Interim Director, Co-op Partners Warehouse (Sources: National Park Service, U.S. Department of Labor)

Who are some growers going above the minimum to treat their farmworkers well?

“Last year Featherstone Farm, one of TCCP’s longstanding local farm partners, received formal certification from the Fair Food Program, a nationally recognized farmworker based auditor of employment practices and policies. They are currently the only farm in the state of Minnesota with this certification! Featherstone is setting the example for organic farms in our region by not only supporting their own workers but also advocating for farm labor rights in the market at large.” – Mackenzie Burke, Produce Buyer, Co-op Partners Warehouse

“Both Equal Exchange and Coliman provide Co-op Partners Warehouse with Fair trade organic bananas from Mexico & South America. A portion of every box we purchase is invested back into the farmworkers’ communities as part of the Fair Trade Premium. In addition to this reinvestment, Fair Trade certification also requires that base wages paid by farmers are at least 70% of the counties living wage.” – Ryan Tepe, Produce Buyer, Co-op Partners Warehouse

How do our daily choices influence the conditions farmworkers face?

“Making small changes like searching out [organic] Fair Trade options for bananas, coffee, chocolate, and other grocery items is a great way to vote with your dollars. You will not only be supporting the co-op, [you’ll] support key partners in the supply chain who support our co-op values as well.” – Ryan Tepe, Produce Buyer, Co-op Partners Warehouse