Warwick Area Farmworker Organization seeks donations for farmworkers safety backpacks
Warwick. Each donation received helps WAFO provide farmworkers with items such as reusable water bottles and work gloves, health information, and other items.
Warwick /
| 17 Mar 2025 | 10:10
WAFO hopes to deliver at least 300 bags to farmworkers this year. (
)
Each bag contains a variety of safety items and information.
The bags will be given out to local farmworkers as they get ready for the planting season.
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 this season. Farmworkers have long workdays that often entail walking and biking along Pulaski Highway and some of the back roads. The roads are often dark when the farmworkers are out. To help support the safety of the agricultural community, Warwick Area Farmworker Organization (WAFO) will be running the its fifth Safety Backpack campaign with a goal of raising enough funds for 300 backpacks.
The Safety Backpacks are made of a reflective orange material that is durable in the field and visible. They contain items needed for safety, including reusable water bottles and work gloves. According to WAFO, the design and contents of the backpacks were identified by an advisory group of farmworkers, farmers and local health team members.
In addition to assembling the backpacks, WAFO includes important health information on heat safety, ticks and mosquitos, as well as agricultural work protection. WAFO has a team of trained community health workers who provide instruction 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 three years. WAFO anticipates close to 300 backpacks are needed; however, the donations to purchase the bags will determine how many it will be able to distribute.
The cost of each bag and its contents is $20, which can be made as a donation to the Warwick Area Farmworker Organization through the website (wafarmworkers.org or by check made out to WAFO and sent to P.O. Box 607, Goshen, New York 10924). WAFO is a 501c3-public charity which allows for all donations to be tax deductible.
For more information, contact Kathy Brieger at kbrieger@sunriver.org. For more information about other programs of WAFO or to become involved with the Warwick Area Farmworkers Organization, visit the website: wafarmworkers.org.