Dear Friends,

Over the next 5 days, I have pledged to raise $1,000 for Student Action with Farmworkers, and I can only do this with your help!

In 2008, I moved to North Carolina with the hope and dream that I would find work in the local and sustainable agricultural movement, and I did. Over the past several years, I have worked side by side with incredible people to improve access to healthy and local foods by growing community gardens in urban settings.  

This year as I finish my master’s degree in social work at NCSU, I am interning with Student Action with Farmworkers (SAF). SAF is a non-profit organization connecting students and farmworkers to learn about each other’s lives, share resources and skills, improve conditions for farmworkers, and build diverse coalitions working for social change.

Through my internship with SAF, I have realized I have often overlooked an integral part of the agricultural movement: farmworkers. In conversations and discussions about sustainable food systems, the 2-3 million farmworkers currently harvesting food in the United States are hardly mentioned. These are the men, women and children who can barely afford to put food on their own table because a farmworkers’s average annual income is $11,000. Farmworkers labor in extreme weather conditions and are often denied access to shade, water, bathrooms, or a break during the workday. North Carolina, the place I now call home, is the number one sweet potato producing state in the nation. Farmworkers who harvest sweet potatoes are paid 40 cents a bucket, and in order to earn $50 a farmworker must pick and haul 2 tons of sweet potatoes.  

I have pledged to raise money for SAF because I believe their work is making a difference. SAF is dedicated to improving the lives of farmworkers by creating a more just agricultural system. Over 85% of their budget goes directly to programs that have a direct impact on farmworkers. With our help, they can continue to engage students, farmworkers, and community members in this movement.

To get this campaign started, I have made an initial donation of $100.  Any amount you can contribute will help me reach my goal!  

Muchas gracias!

Amanda

SAF's grassroots fundraising goal is to raise $23,000 through online fundraising and house parties!

SAF uses money raised from individuals to:

• conduct outreach to students and farmworkers,
• provide training, stipends, and scholarships for our interns, students organizers, and youth,
• share documentaries and presentations with the general public, and
• provide a living wage and full benefits to our staff

Check out our online fundraisers' campaign pages and donate here!

Alexa Dilworth

Amanda Soltes

Andrea Kells

Jonathan Kirsch

Nayely Perez Huerta

Patrick Stawski & Gus Curran

Quirina Vallejos

Ryan Nilsen

Sandy Preiss

Victor Canales Gamino