As we enter the summer months and holidays, many of us will be spending time with our friends and loved ones at barbecues and eating out at restaurants. Food is something that brings us together in times of celebration, and even sorrow. Across cultures, food is seen as an important way to connect and an essential part of our identities. It gives us a sense of people’s traditions and histories. In the US, however, many of us have become disconnected from where our food originates and the work that makes all of our meals possible. For many of us, the essential food workers on farms, in processing plants, in warehouses, and driving trucks are invisible and often taken for granted. For those food workers who we are more likely to see and interact with, such as the grocery, delivery, and restaurant workers, we nonetheless may fail to appreciate the important role they play in keeping our plates full or recognize that many of them don’t earn enough to adequately feed themselves or their families.
Through our three-part series, “The Hands that Feed Us: Exploring Job Quality Challenges in the US Food Supply Chain,” EOP, in partnership with the Aspen Institute’s Food & Society Program, embarked on a journey to highlight the realities faced by some of our most essential workers — those who sustain our food system. This series enabled us to highlight the pervasive challenges faced by these workers. From the economic insecurity endured by farmworkers to the perilous conditions in meat and poultry processing facilities, we shed light on the often-overlooked realities of these vital workers. The series underscores the persistent issues of low pay, hazardous environments, and limited rights faced predominantly by immigrants, people of color, and women in the food supply chain. And importantly, we explore ideas about how this situation could be improved, so that food work can be good work, nourishing both for workers and consumers.
As you reflect on the possibilities, we invite you to delve into the insightful videos, blogs, and articles featured in this month’s newsletter, and consider joining us at our next conversation on June 21. The content below illuminates both the challenges and opportunities of building a fairer and more equitable food system.
Event — The Workers Behind Our Groceries: A Book Talk with Benjamin Lorr – June 21, 2024
In “The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket,” author Benjamin Lorr traces the history and evolution of the modern-day supermarket, exposes the grocery supply chain, and reveals the often exploited and underpaid labor that goes into making sure our shelves are stocked. Join the Aspen Institute’s Food & Society Program and Economic Opportunities Program on June 21 at 1:00 p.m. EDT for a virtual event, “The Workers Behind Our Groceries: A Book Talk with Benjamin Lorr.”
This is the third and final event in our series, “The Hands that Feed Us,” in which we explore the challenges food workers face and opportunities to create a sustainable food system where workers, businesses, and consumers can thrive together.
Video — Essential Workers, Exploited Labor: Perspectives on Farm Work in the US
On February 28, the Aspen Institute’s Food & Society Program and Economic Opportunities Program held a panel discussion, titled “Job Quality in the Fields: Improving Farm Work in the US,” on the state of farm work in the US and what is being done to raise job quality in the industry. During the event, we heard from Gerardo Reyes Chavez of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Daniel Costa of the Economic Policy Institute, Dr. L. Lloys Frates of Frutura, and Mireya Loza of Georgetown University. NPR’s Ximena Bustillo moderated the conversation.
Video — Workers On the Line: Improving Jobs in Meat and Poultry Processing
Meat and poultry processing are core to our food supply chain. Yet, health and safety hazards are pervasive in this sector, and meat and poultry processing workers face some of the harshest conditions in the US. On March 19, the Aspen Institute’s Food & Society Program and Economic Opportunities Program held a panel discussion, titled “Workers On the Line: Improving Jobs in Meat and Poultry Processing,” on the state of farm work in the US and what is being done to raise job quality in the industry. We heard from Shelly Anand of Sur Legal Collaborative, Debbie Berkowitz of the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor Georgetown University, Kim Cordova of UFCW Local 7, and Dr. Angela Stuesse of the University of North Carolina. Reuters’ Leah Douglas moderated the conversation.
Additional Reading:
Field to Feast: The Workers and Hazardous Jobs Behind Our Thanksgiving Meal
Blog – Job Quality as the Cornerstone of Restaurant Work
Workers in the restaurant industry suffer some of the lowest job quality in the US, often trapped in a cycle of low wages, unpredictable schedules, and limited access to advancement and benefits. The good news, though, is that it doesn’t have to be this way. In this interview, Michael Lastoria, the co-founder and CEO of &pizza, a restaurant chain known for implementing high-road employment practices, dives deep into the values, vision, and commitment that drive &pizza’s notable success.
Additional Reading:
Improving Restaurant Workers’ Lives by Building Worker Power
