Canada’s Migrant Farmworker Awareness Week builds on the long history of organizing for Farmworkers based in the United States. National Farmworker Awareness Week is one such example of organizing which served as the inspiration for a Canada-specific Migrant Farmworker Awareness Week. We thank Student Actions with Farmworkers (SAF), a non-profit organization based in the US for inspiring this work.
SAF’s mission is to bring students and farmworkers together to learn about each other’s lives, share resources and skills, improve conditions for farmworkers, and build diverse coalitions working for social change.
In Canada and the US, farmworkers are intrinsic to the economy. They work the fields and grow the food that sustains populations across both countries. At the same time, farmworkers in both countries face situations of abuse and exploitation.
NFAW and MFAW are a reflection of the need to recognize the contributions of farmworkers to broader society, learn about their struggles, and build solidarity across borders.