WASHINGTON - Equitable Food Initiative, the workforce development and certification organization that partners with growers, farmworkers, and retailers, has been awarded a $1.2 million grant from the Walmart Foundation. The funding marks the fourth grant EFI has received from the Walmart Foundation, part of its efforts to promote responsible labor practices across the produce supply chain.

The grant will support EFI’s role as administrator of the Ethical Charter Implementation Program (ECIP), the industry collaboration focused on helping employers align their management systems with the principles of the Ethical Charter on Responsible Labor Practices. This funding will enable EFI to accelerate industry adoption and make ECIP a more effective tool by adding new components for farm labor contractors (FLCs) and workers on the ECIP Learn, Assess and Benchmark (LAB) platform.

ECIP provides the industry with a uniform approach to growers’ and suppliers’ engagement in strengthening labor management systems aligned to the Ethical Charter. ECIP invites employers to assess their current practices, access new resources and best practices, and prioritize areas for improvement.

“The latest grant from the Walmart Foundation is key to widening ECIP’s impact and creating new engagement paths for FLCs and workers,” said Peter O'Driscoll, executive director of EFI, in a recent press release. “FLCs manage a significant portion of the field workforce, so expanding ECIP to align their practices with the Ethical Charter is a vital step that can have a tremendous industrywide impact on workers.”

EFI will focus on three key objectives during the grant period:

• Increasing Industry Participation With ECIP – Helping bridge communication between retailers, buyers, suppliers and growers to underscore the importance and use of the program.
• Launching FLC LAB – Designing and launching a new component of the LAB platform will help farm labor contractors improve labor management systems, similar to the support growers receive through the Grower LAB. Growers will enhance their ECIP engagement profiles when their FLCs use the platform.
• Integrating Worker Tools and Surveys Into ECIP – Incorporating worker-accessible tools and surveys into the LAB platform will empower workers to understand the principles of the Ethical Charter and assess whether they experience its protections. The new Worker LAB component of ECIP will also provide growers with valuable tools to gain insights into how management systems can be more effectively implemented in the field.

“ECIP is quickly becoming the connector for many continuous improvement programs for labor practices in the produce industry,” said Gavin Bailey, senior manager, sustainability at Walmart Foundation. “Expanding ECIP to include farm labor contractors and direct input from workers is a critical step in fully aligning the produce industry with the Ethical Charter.”

The integration of worker input will bring vital labor voices into ECIP. “We’re thrilled to provide workers with the ability to assess labor practices in their workplace,” O’Driscoll added. “The core of EFI’s work is to engage workers throughout the supply chain, and their participation in ECIP will bring more insights to help employers on their continuous improvement journey.”

For more information about tools and resources available through ECIP or to get involved in the program, visit ethicalcharterprogram.org, and for more information about EFI, visit equitablefood.org.