Most of us here in the U.S. (myself included!) have a lot to learn about the realities behind the agricultural products we use and the injustices that the amazing workers who plant, tend, and harvest them are facing. Here are some resources I’ve found helpful and informative. I became aware of some of these groups through my work researching farm worker health and safety. Others I’ve come across in seeking to support local community organizing efforts.
Just to be clear – these organizations have not endorsed my work or WAFFLE Studio (and I haven’t asked them to beyond inviting some of them to join me as partners). I am sharing these resources because I think more people should know about and support them. Know of an organization you think would be a good addition to this list? Please let me know via my contact form!
NOTE:
If you’re specifically looking for ICE preparedness and response resources in the Twin Cities area, please check out this page instead!
Farm worker organizations
Farmworker Association of Florida (FWAF)
One of my partner organizations! I’ve personally worked with FWAF on some research studies focused on farm worker health and safety and really appreciate the dedication, talent, and insight of these wonderful folks. Their work spans many important issues, including immigrants’ rights, heat safety, disaster preparedness and response, food sovereignty, pesticide safety, health equity, and more. I especially recommend checking out the video stories on their website to learn more about these key issues and the work that they do.
United Farm Workers (UFW)
UFW is a farm workers’ union started in the 1960s by workers’ rights leaders including Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. They campaign for union contract agreements at agricultural workplaces as well as legislation to expand worker protections and fair pay for farm workers. Their website has a lot of useful information, including an archive of Farmworker Voices, recent news coverage, history, ongoing campaign updates, and more. I highly recommend following their Facebook page, which has a ton of photos and videos that show the essential and highly skilled tasks farm workers do on a daily basis.
Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW)
The CIW is a leader in worker-driven responsibility for agricultural workplaces. Their Fair Food Program includes worker-to-worker education about labor standards, third-party compliance monitoring, and premium pricing that gets passed on to workers’ paychecks. The program’s focus started with the Florida tomato industry and has been expanding into other states and agricultural industries. In addition, the CIW leads a campaign against farm slavery as well as a national consumer education campaign to increase pressure on major corporate buyers to participate in the Fair Food Program.
Líderes Campesinas
Líderes Campesinas has chapters across California who organize and advocate for safer, healthier environments for farmworker women (campesinas). Centering the leadership of these women, their work addresses labor rights, gender-based violence, environmental justice, health equity, and more. Follow their social media to stay up to date on their awareness campaigns addressing important issues including sexual assault and domestic violence against farmworker women.
Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC)
FLOC is a farmworker union that helps facilitate collective bargaining for members in the Midwest and South. With offices in Ohio, North Carolina, and Mexico, they organize for farm workers’ labor rights within the U.S. and internationally. Check out the We Are FLOC section of their website to read members’ stories.
Familias Unidas Por La Justicia (FUJ)
FUJ is a labor union of indigenous farmworkers based in Washington State. Follow their social media for important news and information about actions in Washington and across the U.S.
Alianza Nacional de Campesinas
Alianza is an organization of current and former women farmworkers and their families. They have 15 member organizations across 10 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. that work at the national level to advocate for policy changes and raise awareness of key issues. Their priority topic areas include gender-based violence, labor rights, immigration, and pesticides.
Migrant Justice
Migrant Justice has roots in organizing workers in Vermont’s dairy industry and has since expanded its focus to include additional states and industries. Their Milk with Dignity program follows a worker-driven social responsibility model and includes a code of conduct for participating farms, third-party compliance monitoring, farmworker-to-farmworker education, economic relief for workers, and binding buyer contracts. Migrant Justice also organizes for immigrants’ rights and facilitates campaigns to protect community members from deportations. Follow their social media and sign up here to get action alerts!
National advocacy groups
Migrant Clinicians Network (MCN)
One of my partner organizations! MCN works to address barriers to healthcare that migrants face as they are displaced or travel for work (including for migrant farm labor jobs). Their work includes capacity building for healthcare workers to better serve migrant patients, a Health Network to improve continuity of care as patients move, health justice advocacy, and more. Their website is a wealth of information, covering key health and safety issues as well as tools and resources to address them.
Farmworker Justice
Farmworker Justice works at multiple levels to end labor discrimination against farmworkers, improve wages and working conditions, promote better immigration policy, and increase farmworkers’ access to health resources. They offer programs to improve farmworkers’ quality of life, advocate for policy change, and engages in litigation to address labor abuses. The resources section of their website offers lots of ways to learn about key issues, including fact sheets and policy bulletins.
Justice for Migrant Women (J4MW)
J4MW engages in policy advocacy, civic & political engagement, public education, and power building for the rights of migrant women. Many of their projects that focus especially on farmworkers’ experiences. These projects include 1) the Bandana Project, which spreads awareness of workplace sexual violence against farmworker women; 2) The Humans Who Feed Us, which highlights stories from farmworkers and food chain workers; and 3) Healing Voices, a mental health initiative to heal individual and community trauma among farmworkers and support movement organizing.
Food Chain Workers Alliance (FCWA)
FCWA is a coalition of member organizations representing workers across the food chain from production to consumption. They support organizing and movement building through leadership development, amplifying member campaigns, policy advocacy, and promoting values-based purchasing by public institutions. Read more about the Good Food Communities campaign here!
National Center for Farmworker Health (NCFH)
NCFH supports organizations and health professionals in providing quality care to farmworkers and their families. They offer trainings, professional development, data and research, and outreach resources to support farmworker-serving organizations. They also run the Call for Health Program (Una Voz para la Salud), which helps farmworkers access health services and information.
National Farm Worker Ministry (NFWM)
NFWM is a faith-based group that organizes alongside farm workers across the U.S. They amplify campaigns led by farm worker partners, led by the values of respect, solidarity, racial justice, faithfulness, resourcefulness, and ¡Sí Se Puede! (Yes, We Can!).
Agricultural Justice Project (AJP)
AJP helps farms and food businesses implement fair practices through technical assistance and their Food Justice Certification (FJC) program. The FJC provides a set of standards rooted in social justice principles and written by farm workers and small-scale farmers. AJP also advocates for fairer purchasing by public institutions as a member of the Good Food Communities national campaign.
Midwest-based immigrant rights groups
NOTE:
If you’re specifically looking for ICE preparedness and response resources in the Twin Cities area, please check out this page instead!
Migrant Support Collective (MSC)
One of my partner organizations! MSC is a volunteer-run mutual aid fund to support the well-being of migrants impacted by the U.S. immigration detention system. Their programs include a library program, an art as advocacy program centering detained migrants’ personal stories, a data transparency initiative to highlight the experiences of trans and queer people in detention, and a mental health support initiative. Follow their social media for updates on their programs!
Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC)
MIRAC is an all-volunteer, grassroots immigrant rights organization based in Minneapolis, MN. MIRAC organizes actions and campaigns to support legalization for all and protest deportations, detentions, and border militarization. They also do community outreach and offer occasional teach-ins and educational programs such as know your rights trainings. Check out their website for a useful library of informational resources, and follow their social media to stay up to date on upcoming programs and actions!
Comunidades Organizando el Poder y la Acción Latina (COPAL)
With offices in Minneapolis, Mankato, and Rochester, COPAL organizes Minnesotans for the quality of life of Latine families. They have committees focusing on environmental justice, healthcare for all, economic justice, and youth leadership development. They also have a workers’ center providing educational and career resources as well as labor leadership development. Also check out their website to learn about their legislative agenda and advocacy.
Immigrant Defense Network (IDN)
IDN is a Minnesota-based coalition of community organizations established in 2025 to protect the rights of our immigrant neighbors. They organize demonstrations, act as a watchdog for immigrants’ rights, work to shape public conversations about immigration, and promote systems change. Check out their website for resources, including downloadable posters.
Organized Communities Against Deportations (OCAD)
OCAD is a Chicago-based group organization resisting the dehumanization, criminalization, and deportation of immigrants. They are also the fiscal sponsor of the Migrant Support Collective. Check out their website to learn about and support their current campaigns!