During the summer of 2016, I spent a few of my mornings every week volunteering at a farm in my town. I had heard about the farm's mission to feed the hungry in the area by harvesting organic produce and donating it all– an initiative I knew I wanted to be a part of! But what I never anticipated was the grueling work that I was headed towards. My extremely short time as a farmer that summer fostered my unwavering appreciation for the workers who put food on my plate every day.

    As I head into the summer of 2018, I will be putting my (limited) skills as a farmer aside and gearing up with the organization Student Action with Farmworkers in Charleston, SC to protect the human rights of our nation's farmworkers. Two days a week I will be working in the South Carolina Legal Services office and the rest of the week I will be doing outreach to farms across 35 different counties to speak to the workers about their human rights and available legal protection.

     For too many years, this vital group in our society has remained unprotected by the federal labor laws that largely exclude the protection of farmworkers. And with the workers typically being migrants (with 68% of farmworkers in America being born in Mexico) whose human rights are often abused, a whole other movement for social justice is necessary. In the words of American civil rights activist, Ceasar Chavez, "Every time we sit at the table to enjoy the fruits and grains and vegetables from our good earth, remember they come from the work of men and women and children who have been exploited for generations."

     I look forward to embarking on this journey and advocating for the human rights of farmworkers across America. I hope you all can join me in this mission by following the blog entries of SAF workers (including me!) here and donating to this worthy initiative. 

     Thank you for advocating for peace and justice with us!