About EFI
Elevating Social Responsibility & Worker Engagement in the Produce Industry
Equitable Food Initiative (EFI) brings everyone in the supply chain together to integrate worker voice to address the industry’s most pressing issues, including labor, sustainability and food safety. We seek to be a catalyst in the fresh produce industry that engages and develops agricultural workers for business success. We believe that collaboration leads to enhanced business performance and better-quality workplaces, thereby transforming the lives of farmworkers.
Our Mission
Bring together growers, farmworkers, retailers and consumers to transform agriculture and the lives of farmworkers.
Our Vision
An agricultural system in the Americas in which stakeholders collaborate to improve quality and supply chain assurance for retailers; quality and high-performing work systems for growers; skills, credentials, job quality and economic return for workers; and quality, safety, and transparency for consumers.
Guiding Principles
Our guiding principles differentiate our approach and shape the solutions we offer.
Worker Engagement & Agency
EFI programs engage workers, developing their skills and agency, and providing channels for their voice which creates assurance, improves job quality and drives business performance.
Continuous Improvement
EFI meets employers where they are and introduces a structured framework to assist them on a journey of continuous improvement, ultimately creating a culture in which workers and managers are engaged to recommend and implement improvements. We also use continuous improvement to complement compliance frameworks to drive change at scale.
Market Recognition
EFI provides ways for employers to demonstrate leadership and transparency in social responsibility, encouraging retail buyers to recognize them with preferred sourcing and a clear market advantage.
Multistakeholder Participation
EFI recognizes that addressing the industry’s most pressing challenges requires complete supply chain solutions created with participation of all stakeholders.
Skill-Building for Workers and Managers
EFI recognizes and enhances the knowledge and skills of workers to create more effective and healthier work environments where employers invest in developing a more professional workforce.
Offering a Full Suite of Products & Services That Provide a Path of Continuous Improvement
EFI offers supply chain assurance and helps retail buyers identity suppliers who are engaged in social responsibility, building a culture of food safety and developing better workplaces.
EFI offers assessments, training and certifications that:
- build capacity for farming operations
- engage workers throughout the operation to drive safety, efficiency and quality
- foster worker-manager collaboration
- identify and enhance foundational skills of workers, managers and leaders
Grower-shippers choose the place to start that is right for them and can add-on products and services that best suit their needs to build their capacity.
Webinars, Seminars & Workshops
Online training offerings that introduce and develop social responsibility concepts in agricultural operations
Ethical Charter Implementation Program
Self-assess labor practices and demonstrate engagement to buyers
EFI Certification
The Gold Standard Social Responsibility Certification
Work Redesign & Skill Identification
Assess, analyze and redesign work processes to improve performance
ERGO for Regenerative Organic Certification
Satisfy Regenerative Organic Alliance’s Gold Level Social Fairness Requirements With an ERGO Certificate From EFI
Farm Labor Contractor Certification
Earn the gold standard social responsibility certification for FLCs
A Multi-Stakeholder Approach
The food supply chain is a dynamic system of multiple entities that should be equally represented to share their needs for improving the system. All voices should be included — growers, farmworkers, retailers and consumers — to ensure that an equitable and sustainable food system brings value to all. Equitable Food Initiative was created by leaders in the supply chain who wanted increased assurance around working conditions and food safety. These visionaries knew that training and supporting farmworkers on the front line would create a culture that could eventually revolutionize the industry. The nonprofit organization continues to be governed by leaders from across the food supply chain. The following organizations served on EFI’s founding Board of Directors and worked to develop the EFI Certification Standards. EFI maintains a multistakeholder Executive Board and believes that the future of agriculture lies in the collaboration among all groups of the supply chain.
The EFI Difference
As a multi-stakeholder organization, EFI’s approach is rooted in creating shared value for workers, farming operations and retail buyers. As pressures in the agricultural industry continue to mount around labor shortages, extreme weather, supply chain shortages and downward pricing pressure, we believe our workforce development solutions can help alleviate those pressures. Together, we can support workers, help growers improve business performance and bring retail buyers higher levels of assurance.
Social Responsibility Through Collaboration & Integrating Worker Voice
Farming operations work with EFI to address social responsibility throughout the supply chain. We partner with growers of fresh fruits and vegetables who seek to integrate worker voice, foster manager-worker collaboration and recognize the value of all staff. These progressive farming operations focus on creating a culture of continuous improvement that leads to a safer food supply chain, better workplaces and the ability to meet evolving business needs.
An Unprecendented Idea
As a multi-stakeholder organization, EFI’s founding is a unique story of bringing everyone in the supply chain together to address the fresh produce industry’s most pressing problems.We’re an Open Book
As a nonprofit social enterprise, EFI is funded by earned revenue and supplemented by government and philanthropic grants.
Building Skills to Create Assurance and Drive Business Performance
COMMUNICATION
PROBLEM SOLVING
LEADERSHIP
Watch the Award-Winning Cultivating Voices Video Series
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