Assembly Resolution No. 698

BY: M. of A. Tague

MEMORIALIZING Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim
March 25-31, 2022, as Farmworker Awareness Week in
the State of New York

WHEREAS, Hardworking American farmers provide New York State, the
Nation, and much of the world with a safe, healthy, affordable, and
abundant food supply; and

WHEREAS, Farmers boost our local economies by spending locally,
attracting tourism, and keeping money in our communities; in the United
States, agriculture is a thriving industry which provides $1.1 trillion
in economic impact and provides food for an American population of more
than 328 million, as well as a global people; and

WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to memorialize
Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim March 25-31, 2022, as Farmworker
Awareness Week in the State of New York, in conjunction with the
observance of National Farmworker Awareness Week; and

WHEREAS, Equitable Food Initiative (EFI), the workforce development
and certification organization that partners with growers, farmworkers,
retailers and consumer advocacy groups, is celebrating National
Farmworker Awareness Week by encouraging growers, agricultural
associations and consumers to share messages honoring the farmworkers
who make it possible for Americans to have access to high-quality, fresh
and safer fruits and vegetables, particularly in light of the pandemic;
and

WHEREAS, National Farmworker Awareness Week is a designated week of
action for communities to bring attention to the multiple challenges
farmworkers face and honor their important and always essential
contributions to the food supply chain; and

WHEREAS, These past few years has helped the world shine a light on
the men and women of many essential industries, including agriculture;
now more than ever, consumers have taken an interest in where their food
comes from and the special people who help get it from farm to table;
and

WHEREAS, Essential to getting fresh and healthy food on supermarket
shelves, farmworkers grow, harvest, process and pack fresh food for
stores every day; nearly 2.5 million farmworkers are on farms and
ranches throughout the United States, performing hard and skilled labor;
it is estimated that there are 425,000 farmworkers working in the fresh
produce industry alone; and

WHEREAS, The celebration of National Farmworker Awareness Week is in
recognition of farmers from all racial, ethnic and socio-economic
backgrounds and walks of life, who feed us and our families every day
and of the importance of agriculture as a vital industry and economic
driver in New York State; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim March 25-31, 2022, as
Farmworker Awareness Week in the State of New York; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New
York.