Many people eat their foods with enjoyment sometimes not knowing how it got to them or how it is made or grown. We don’t realize the process and time it takes to get fresh food to our homes, school, and jobs.

Farmworkers are the reason why we have food daily and our grocery stores are nicely stocked. We are the Central Valley,  we house major crops, have lots of land, and rely on many field workers.

Our field workers work so hard through many seasons of crops–nurturing different fruits and tending the vegetables that will be sold. They work during the scorching summertime, where it is as high as 115 degrees, unfortunately, sometimes with no lunch breaks and very long harsh hours. Sometimes tragedies in the field strike like dehydration which can cause fatality due to the heat and extreme tiredness.  Beyond the fields in the factories where the fruit is packaged daily, the work is also a very complicated process and a difficult struggle for the workers. Whereas there they have to carry large, heavy boxes of fruit to package them and move them to different areas to be sorted and sent out. There are also times when they can have back injuries due to the heavy boxes of fruit. 

There are disadvantages to being a  fieldworker. They do receive little pay sometimes below minimum wage or just at the lowest pay possible. They work from dawn to sunset daily with sometimes no days off. A source states,” Between 1/3 and 1/2 of all farmworkers in America reside in California–roughly 500,000 – 800,000 farmworkers.” Information in the article also says that farmworkers are not protected by National Labor Relations Laws, not included in most minimum hour wage guarantees, few labor laws for children, right for overtime pay, to receive health care before it’s or any. In the words of one worker herself, “Lo que no me gustaba que teníamos que acer cierta cantidad de travajo por cierto tiempo y si asía bastante calor  . Y tampoco no trabajábamos overtime . Porque no nos permitían . Aveces trabajaba 8 horas algunas veces 12 horas si nos daban break.” She stated, “What I did not like was that we had to do a certain amount of work for a certain time and it was quite hot. And we didn’t work overtime either. Because We were not allowed. Sometimes I worked 8 hours, sometimes 12 hours if they gave us a break.” With no benefits, care, or appreciation towards the farmworkers, their essential work is not appreciated. 

People need to come to the realization of how the grocery foods get to them. It takes hard and harsh work.  Often these workers do what most others would not for low wages. They are keeping their families going with the little pay they receive, and they are keeping the rest of us fed.