WENATCHEE, WA - Today is the last day of Farmworker Awareness Week, so be sure to recognize those employees bringing produce to the plate! Stemilt is celebrating the occasion, which comes in tandem with recent improvement achievements completed by the supplier’s Equitable Food Initiative (EFI) leadership team in Pasco, Washington. Additionally, Stemilt kicked off Stemilters Day on March 21, signaling the start of the spring season.

“Our first-ever Stemilters Day took a moment to celebrate the great work that our team members, or Stemilters, put in each day,” said West Mathison, President. “Our Stemilters nurture orchards and fruit, pack and ship fresh fruit all year long, and perform many other duties to support us as we produce World Famous Fruit. It was fun to celebrate the first day of spring by showing our appreciation for Stemilters and how they unite around traits like dedication, appreciation, collaboration, and motivation.”

For Stemilter’s Day, the company’s human capital team shared a delicious gift with each team member, as well as a video with inspirational messaging around the sprouting of Stemilters that would take place in the future. Stemilt has also been posting daily on social channels during Farmworkers Awareness Week to share Stemilters’ stories and experiences while encouraging consumers to seek the Responsibly Grown, Farmworker Assured label.

“Through EFI training and the formation of leadership teams, we proudly met 300+ standards and brought continuous improvement into our culture at Stemilt,” said Mathison. “This is meaningful and helps us make our intentions a reality. Today, we have nine committed EFI leadership teams that collaborate on ‘small’ changes that have big impacts on driving excellence throughout Stemilt.”

The EFI leadership team in Pasco recently observed cars driving too fast around the orchards and decided that installing speed limit signs would help increase safety on roads for drivers and pedestrians alike. Since signs were installed, there has been positive feedback around road safety from others.

“Small changes like the one that our Pasco team facilitated are inspiring to me because of the collaboration that occurred to see them through,” said Mathison. “Stemilt’s commitment to EFI stems from our desire to cultivate people and delight consumers through excellence. While it’s certainly important and fun to join in the celebration of Farmworker Awareness Week, it’s more important that we continue to use each day as an opportunity to encourage worker voice and ignite changes throughout the agriculture world.”

Cheers to Stemilt on these important efforts!

Stemilt