SAF informs and mobilizes students & community members to support justice for farmworkers. A key to SAF’s work is to be aware of current systemic issues affecting farmworkers and to provide solidarity. Through education & outreach, advocacy, and organizing, SAF engages, inspires & plays a leadership role in the farmworker movement.
Education & Outreach
Building awareness of farmworker struggles and providing space for analysis are vital aspects of our advocacy work. SAF creates resources and conducts workshops to raise the consciousness of young people and their communities about the conditions under which our food is produced and to engage them in action. We encourage you to use these resources, including factsheets and publications, documentary projects, and a speaker guide, in your classroom, your research, your community and faith groups, your organizing work, and your individual learning.
We work collaboratively with farmworkers through participatory documentary workshops to create photos, writing, and artwork to tell stories about their lives. SAF uses this documentary work as a tool for educating communities about farmworkers’ lives, aspirations, cultural traditions, contributions, and hopes for change.
SAF works with students, workers, and partners to coordinate an annual national week of action, National Farmworker Awareness Week (NFAW), for students and community members to honor farmworkers’ important contributions and to raise awareness about the issues they face.
Advocacy
We work with diverse coalitions to engage workers, students, and allies to call for administrative and legislative policy changes to build towards more dignity and justice for farmworkers and their families. We monitor and hold administrative agencies and policy makers accountable to their responsibilities. We support other organizations in their advocacy campaigns by signing letters and petitions, endorsing campaigns, and participating in public actions.
SAF was a founding member of the Farmworker Advocacy Network and Adelante Education Coalition, coalitions that work to improve the living and working conditions of farmworkers and the educational success of immigrant youth. SAF also mobilizes community power in collaboration with a number of other statewide and regional coalitions.
Organizing
SAF provides young people with the knowledge and support needed to become active participants in the farmworker movement while also supporting farmworker-led organizations and coalitions that empower farmworkers to fight for improved living and working conditions for themselves. Using this model, students who participate in our leadership programs – the majority of whom are Latinx and from farmworker families – learn about the history of the farm labor movement as well as current labor campaigns. By learning about the history of the movement, sharing personal stories, and participating in public actions and rallies, student participants become equipped to take part in collective action.
