COACHELLA VALLEY, CA - This week is a crucial one in our industry as we spotlight the people that make our work possible.

Fieldworkers are the boots on the ground, without whom the wheels would come to a grinding halt. Now, especially amid labor shortages, competitive markets, and extreme weather swings, it is crucial to take the opportunities we have to honor and thank them while we close out Farmworker Appreciation Week.

“If it wasn’t for these men and women out in the field, facing the heat and challenging conditions of harvest, I personally wouldn’t have a job, and none of us would have food on our table,” Rob Spinelli, Sales, shares, emphasizing that it is a simple truth we need to remember more often. “As an industry, it is important to acknowledge the commitment and drive it takes to do the necessary work a limited percentage of the workforce has the strength and/or willingness to do. And they do so with pride and dedication.”

Rob points out one huge step in ensuring that this workforce is appreciated, and also able to continue on, is buying and selling locally, especially in windows like the present season when Coachella, California, and the Mexico season overlap.

“Local retailers have the opportunity to support local fieldworkers by ensuring the product they pick is in stores they also shop at. It is one thing to hear about your contribution to the world, it is another to see your work as you shop to feed your family and watch others be fed by what you do every day. Buying locally grown produce helps our fieldworkers see and take pride in what they have helped produce,” Rob reflects.

It is a point that drives home not only the hard work and grit of the men and women that make every fruit and vegetable accessible to the public, but the power of seeing in real-time how what they do serves loved ones and neighbors.

Here is to the linchpins of the fresh produce industry, you all deserve our appreciation this and every week of the year.

Anthony Vineyards