Introduction

National Farm Worker Ministry (NFWM) is a faith-based organization committed to justice for and empowerment of farm workers. NFWM educates, equips and mobilizes people of faith to support farm worker led efforts to improve their living and working conditions. NFWM began in the 1920’s as a ministry of charity and service, providing food, clothing and day care to farm workers. When United Farm Worker founder, Cesar Chavez, began organizing in the 1960ʹs, he called on the religious community to change its emphasis from charity to justice. NFWM became the vehicle for people of faith to respond to that call. NFWM brings together national denominations, state councils of churches, religious orders and congregations, and concerned individuals to act alongside farm workers to achieve fundamental change in their living and working conditions. NFWM has also built a fundamental youth following through our Youth and Young Adults (YAYA) network. YAYA is a national network of young people actively working to change the oppressive social, political and economic conditions faced by farm workers in the United States.

NFWM’s current campaign support includes The Fair Food Program with the Coalition for Immokalee Workers, Reynolds Tobacco Campaign with the Farm Labor Organizing Committee and the Darigold and Gerawan campaigns with the United Farm Workers. NFWM also works with a number of community projects such as the Campesinos’ Garden project alongside the Farmworker Association of Florida, with various organizations for immigration reform and was a founding member of the Equitable Food Initiative.

Contact Information

Physical Address:

112 Cox Ave Lindsay Comstock, Executive Director Suite 208 Email address: [email protected] Raleigh, NC 27605 Cell Phone: 919-302-9581

Mailing Address: Website: nfwm.org PO Box 10645 Facebook: facebook.com/nfwministry Raleigh, NC 27605 Twitter: twitter.com/nfwministry

Phone: (919) 807-8707 Executive Director

Rev. Lindsay C. Comstock, an ordained Baptist minister and former human- trafficking specialist, serves as Executive Director of the National Farm Worker Ministry. Comstock has served congregations in Virginia and Massachusetts as well as four years as a human-trafficking specialist in Southeast Asia. She is a former Board of Directors member for the Alliance of Baptists and a doctoral candidate at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Comstock holds a bachelor’s degree in Religion and Philosophy from Chowan University in Murfreesboro, N.C., and a Master of Divinity degree from Baptist Theological Seminary of Richmond.

Member and *Supporting Organizations

Agricultural Missions Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi Alliance of Baptists Society of the Sacred Heart California Church IMPACT Orange County Interfaith Committee to Aid Catholic Migrant Farmworker Network Farm Workers Church of the Brethren Farm Worker Ministry of the Northwest Church Women United in Illinois Unitarian Universalist Migrant Ministry Church Women United of South California UCC Justice and Witness Ministries and South Nevada UMC General Board of Church and Society Cumberland Presbyterian Church UMC General Board of Global Ministries Christian Church (DOC), Disciples Farm United Methodist Women Worker Ministry Dominican Sisters of Peace Gainesville’s Interfaith Alliance for Episcopal Church Immigrant Justice Evangelical Lutheran Church in America North Carolina Council of Churches Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters The Loretto Community Ravensworth Baptist Church, Annandale NFWM Florida Advisory Council Sarasota-Manatee Farm Worker Pinellas Support Committee of the NFWM Supporters Presbyterian Hunger Program, PC (USA) Southeast Conference of the Mennonite School Sisters of Notre Dame Church Sisters of Charity, BVM Southern California Ecumenical Council Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Westminster Presbyterian Church United, Sisters of the Humility of Mary Gainesville

Farm Worker Partner Organizations:

Farm Worker Unions

Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) In the mid-60s, Baldemar Velásquez began organizing farm workers in northwest Ohio; this became FLOC. In 1986, following an 8-year boycott of Campbell Soup Company, FLOC negotiated the first three-way contracts in U.S labor history. In this type of labor agreement, the company pays more for the crop they purchase from the farms, which resulted in increased wages, a grievance procedure and improved housing for the workers while effectively lowering the farmers’ cost of such improvements. FLOC negotiated another three-way agreement in 2004 following a boycott of the Mt. Olive Pickle Company. This was the first collective bargaining contract for H2A guest workers and for farm workers in North Carolina. FLOC’s current campaign is with Reynolds American Tobacco to improve the working and living conditions for tobacco farm workers in the Southeast.

United Farm Workers (UFW) Founded in 1962 by Cesar Chavez, the United Farm Workers of America is the nation's first successful and largest farm worker union and continues to organize in major agricultural industries across the nation. Recent years have witnessed dozens of key UFW union contract victories, among them the largest strawberry, rose, winery and mushroom growers in California and the nation. The UFW’s most active campaigns are with Gerawan Farming in Fresno, California and Darigold in the Pacific Northwest.

Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN) Based in Woodburn, Oregon, the center of Oregon's agricultural industry, PCUN is Oregon's farm worker union and the largest Latino organization in the state. PCUN's fundamental goal is to empower farm workers to understand and take action against systematic exploitation and all of its effects. PCUN is active in comprehensive immigration reform, stopping wage theft and training future farm labor leaders through CAPACES Leadership Institute (CLI).

Farm Worker Associations and Coalitions

Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is a worker-based human rights organization internationally recognized for its achievements in the fields of corporate social responsibility, community organizing, and sustainable food. The CIW began organizing in 1993 as a small group of workers meeting weekly in a room to discuss how to better their community and their lives. CIW’s Fair Food Program highlights injustices faced by tomato pickers in Florida and calls on corporations and businesses to join the program and protect farm workers in their supply chains.

Farmworker Association of Florida (FWAF)

The Farmworker Association of Florida, with roots in Hispanic, Haitian, and African-American communities across Central and South Florida, was formed in 1984. FWAF works to build power among farm worker communities to respond to and gain control over the social, political, workplace, economic, health, and environmental justice issues that impact their lives. Current FWAF projects include Campesinos Gardens, the Lake Apopka Project, disaster response, and support for comprehensive immigration reform.

Food Justice

Equitable Food Initiative (EFI)

NFWM is a founding member of the Equitable Food Initiative. The Equitable Food Initiative is a unique partnership among businesses and organizations that have come together to develop standards, training processes and a certification to protect farm workers and produce safer, healthier food. This approach creates additional value and quality throughout the food system, benefiting workers, growers, retailers and consumers alike. NFWM educates and equips faith communities in support of EFI efforts.