Monday, September 4, 2023

The Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs, the federation of non-profit organizations committed to helping farmworkers secure stable and rewarding employment, salutes on Labor Day the underappreciated, yet massively vital, American agricultural labor force.  Despite stifling heat and humidity, freezing temperatures, pesticide exposure, and remoteness from everyday things like grocery stores, schools, and community, these workers are up before dawn to work into the night, providing all of us with the produce we eat every day.  It is only fitting that these laborers, the essential farmworkers, be recognized for the invaluable contribution they make to society.  Through the immensely successful National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP), AFOP members provide crucial job training and other support services to citizen- and work-authorized-farmworkers.  NFJP is the bedrock of the nation’s almost 60-year commitment to helping agricultural workers upgrade their skills in and outside agriculture, providing employers with what they increasingly say they need: hardworking, committed, well-trained, skilled workers.