As the winter growing season approaches thousands of farmworkers are returning to Southwest Florida. Much of the fresh produce for about half of the United States is grown in this part of the state over the growing season. In order to help keep farmworkers and their families as safe as possible during the ongoing pandemic, the University of Florida/IFAS Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in Immokalee is offering free Zoom sessions to inform growers about how to best keep their agricultural workers safer from COVID-19. Click HERE to learn more and register.
To learn more we spoke with Carlene Thissen, Coordinator for the Farm Labor Supervisor Training Program, and Julia Perkins, community liaison for the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a nonprofit organization that supports farmworkers.