The Fireside Chat Series gives members of the fresh produce industry who are curious about Equitable Food Initiative (EFI) an opportunity to hear directly from EFI staff and partners through casual conversations that explore important aspects of the EFI Program.
This episode’s chat features a conversation between EFI’s Marketing and Sales Manager Madelyn Edlin and Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce/GoodFarms Director of Corporate Social Responsibility Amalia Zimmerman-Lommel. GoodFarms is a grower-packer-shipper of open field crops with operations in the United States and Mexico. In 2015, the company earned the first ever EFI certification and has since gone on to certify 13 additional locations. Edlin and Zimmerman Lommel get into the nuts and bolts of EFI certification and provide a grower’s perspective on the benefits and ROI of partnering with EFI.
EFI makes good business sense. It brings stakeholders together – from the retailer, to the farmers as well as interested organizations such as environmentalists and labor unions. Most importantly it brings the farmworkers in.
– Amalia Zimmerman-Lommel, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility for GoodFarms
Of all the social responsibility programs available, why did you choose EFI?
(Find the response to question 1 starting at minute 1:08)
GoodFarms is a company with operations and partners in many locations serving many different customers. The company was searching for relief from the audit burden that came from the cost and effort of conducting numerous audits to satisfy all customers. EFI provided a solution for that audit fatigue.
Another distinction that pushed the program to the top was the way the EFI Program integrates worker voice and engages the entire workforce.
As the company moved forward with its first EFI certification and was able to see the program in action, it learned that EFI is all about culture change, transparency, accountability and involvement and buy in from everybody.
Giving farmworkers a voice at the table made sense to the company and it was excited to invite its workforce to be a part of something big in the agriculture industry and to make a change and a difference.
What makes EFI so different from any other auditing scheme is that it’s not about the piece of paper that says, ‘I’m in compliance.’ It’s really about having a culture changed where everybody in the organization has a voice and is empowered to make decisions and make changes for the betterment of the company and themselves.
– Amalia Zimmerman-Lommel, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility for GoodFarms
What would you say to a grower considering EFI certification?
(Find the response to question 1 starting at minute 6:12)
The first thing a grower needs to know is that EFI certification is difficult to obtain. It’s not a certification you can turn around quickly and achieve by checking off items on a list.
Second, is the cost output is really an investment into your organization. This is a certification that can transform your company’s approach to doing business by bringing everybody together to solve problems.
Third, EFI offers support during all phases of certification. “EFI didn’t just certify us and leave us alone,” Zimmerman-Lommel explains, “EFI offers support throughout the certification process, before, during and after.” This includes continued marketing assistance, facilitating important conversations between stakeholders and being a partner in problem solving.
What are the benefits of EFI certification?
(Find the response to question 1 starting at minute 10:25)
An Engaged and Educated Workforce
What you’re paying for with the costs associated with EFI certification is the education of your workforce. In return, you get a workforce that understands how the supply chain works and their role in it. They understand hygiene, food safety and that they are the last human touch to a product before it makes it to a store and gets in the hands of consumers.
An engaged workforce is instrumental to the sustainability of any company and giving workers a voice is important for identifying and solving problems on the ground before they become big problems. If there are problems going on, you want to hear about them. The EFI Leadership Team provides the structure to build trust and engagement and to address any issues that do arise.
Improved Produce Quality
Workers are coming in mindful. They know their importance and understand what their roles are and what the customers require in quality, consistency and fill rate. The workforce knows that if they deliver a better-quality product that arrives well, arrives on time, meets the customer’s requirements, the company is able to achieve a better bottom line and that filters back to them in premiums.
Relief for Audit Fatigue
Having multiple audits for multiple customers is straining, stressful and costly. Having one certification that’s accepted by all customers that covers social responsibility, GFSI-recognized food safety and pollinator health is a huge benefit.
Improved Employee Retention
GoodFarms has seen a positive impact on worker retention rates after becoming certified through EFI. According to Zimmerman-Lommel, when you’re building a respect-filled company culture that incorporates worker voice, word gets around. You become an employer of choice. Continuing to do the right thing, take care of workers, adding in transparency and communication systems motivates people to stay or return season after season.
There’s no price you can put on the education and commitment of the people who are touching your company’s products and the assurance for your organization, knowing that your products are safe and that they will be enjoyed by many, many consumers.
– Amalia Zimmerman-Lommel, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility for GoodFarms
Is there anything else that you want to highlight about GoodFarms experience with EFI?
(Find the response to question 1 starting at minute 17:55)
Across the board, the EFI Program has been transformative for the female employees on GoodFarms operations. After going through EFI training, Zimmerman-Lommel has watched women gain confidence and begin to speak up and share in meetings when they previously tended not to participate. She has seen female farmworkers speaking directly with customer representatives on farm visits and ask, “What can I do to get more purchase orders from you?”
I’m ready to learn more about EFI, what’s next?
Let’s have a conversation. Reach out to Madelyn Edlin or send an email to info@equitablefood.org.
Links to other conversations in the Fireside Chat Series
Fireside Chat 1: Is EFI Right for My Business?
Fireside Chat 2: What are Worker-Led Improvements, Who Benefits From them and Do They Work?
Fireside Chat 3: What is Continuous Improvement and How Can I Achieve It?
Fireside Chat 4: What does Corporate Social Responsibility Really Mean?
Summary written by: Amy Beth Dingle, Freelance Writer for EFI
