WAFO launches safety backpacks for farmworkers initiative
Warwick. The group is looking for donations to help support this cause and keep local farmworkers safe.
Warwick /
| 12 Feb 2024 | 04:02
The safety backpacks are filled with a variety of items to help keep farmworkers safe from the elements, visible to passing cars, and hydrated, to name a few. (
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Last year, members of the Warwick Area Farmworkers Organization distributed 100 safety backpacks to local farmworkers. (
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Spring is around the corner, and with that comes the busy farm season. Farmworkers will be out in the fields in the next two months, planting crops and getting the ground ready for growing. According to the Warwick Area Farmworkers Organization (WAFO), spring also means extended workdays for farmworkers who often walk and bike along Pulaski Highway and local back roads in the early morning or evening hours when it’s still dark outside.
To help support agricultural community safety, WAFO will be running its “Safety Backpack” campaign for the fourth year. Last year, donations supported the distribution of 100 bags.
The safety backpacks are made of a reflective orange material, which is visible and durable in the field. Each bag contains items needed for safety: a reusable water bottle, mask, eye goggles, hand sanitizer, work gloves, and other items. WAFO added that the design and contents of the backpacks were selected by an advisory group of farmworkers, farmers, and local health team members.
Important health information is included in the backpacks as well, including information on heat safety, ticks and mosquitos, as well as agricultural work protections. WAFO has a team of trained community health workers who provide instructions to the farmworkers as the bags are distributed. Many of these community health workers have been providing training and outreach to the farmworker community for over two years. The anticipated need for these safety backpacks is close to 300; however, the donations will determine how many bags WAFO is able to distribute.
The cost of each bag and its contents is $20, which can be made as a donation to WAFO through the website wafarmworkers.org, or by a check made out to WAFO; P.O. Box 607; Goshen, New York 10924. WAFO is a 501c3-public charity, which allows for all donations to be tax deductible. For this year’s growing season, WAFO will be accepting donations from now to April 1, so that the bags can be filled and distributed by mid- to late-April. Donations will also be accepted after that date, but the organizers are looking to build as many safety backpacks as they can by the April 1 deadline.