Porterville, CA, — As the industry celebrates National Farmworker Awareness Week, Homegrown Organic Farms BB #:161459 is pleased to announce its Northwest organic blueberry farms in Oregon have earned Equitable Food Initiative (EFI) certification. The farms join Homegrown Organic Farms’ stonefruit program which became EFI certified in 2020, further demonstrating the company’s dedication to its employees and associates. As a newly formed ESOP, Homegrown has partnered with its sister company to achieve and roll out this new certification.
The Equitable Food Initiative is a certification process designed to develop partnerships between the farmworking employees and farm management teams. These partnerships help create a trusting work environment while improving overall working conditions, cultivating confidence and teamwork between farm workers and management; building a culture of commitment and collaboration.
Kevin Boyle, Director, New Product & Business Development for Equitable Food Initiative commented ”It is fitting that we would receive notice of Homegrown’s Oregon operations earning EFI certification during Farmworker Awareness Week. Their commitment to EFI is but one effort that the company has put forth to live out its values, engage workers in new ways and provide a fulfilling and professional workplace.”
Scott Mabs, Chief Executive Officer of Homegrown Organic Farms, said “We are proud to add blueberries to the growing list of our EFI certified programs. Our team members from the field to shipment are professionals in their jobs and EFI brings the system to help facilitate cross department collaboration and personal development. Homegrown has always been proactive with the development and value of our team members and EFI is a wonderful support to that mission.”
We are excited to be able to offer this reassurance to our customers and look forward to partnerships with those who share our commitment to healthier and safer conditions for farmworkers and all employees throughout the supply chain.
Join in celebrating National Farmworker Awareness Week by using the hashtag #AlwaysEssential. For more information, please visit https://equitablefood.org/farmworkerawareness.
ABOUT HOMEGROWN ORGANIC FARMS — Located in Porterville, in California’s San Joaquin Valley, Homegrown Organic Farms is an organic fresh produce marketing company with over 300 combined years of fresh fruit experience and represents over 6,000 acres of organic produce. The company was started in 1998 by John and Cindy France and transitioned to employee-owned in 2021. Visit hgofarms.com to learn more.
ABOUT EQUITABLE FOOD INITIATIVE — Equitable Food Initiative is a nonprofit certification and skill-building organization that seeks to increase transparency in the food supply chain and improve the lives of farmworkers through a team-based approach to training and continuous improvement practices. EFI brings together growers, farmworkers, retailers and consumers to solve the most pressing issues facing the fresh produce industry. Its unparalleled approach sets standards for labor practices, food safety and pest management while engaging workers at all levels on the farm to produce Responsibly Grown, Farmworker Assured fruits and vegetables. For more information about Equitable Food Initiative, visit equitablefood.org.
