The Great Lakes Center for Farmworker Health and Wellbeing Releases its Inaugural Annual Report

The Great Lakes Center reflects on its first year and what it takes to build a new center focused on farmworker justice

Farmworkers are skilled workers, and they are essential to the US food supply chain.  However, agricultural work is particularly risky, and farmworkers are arguably among the most vulnerable of all workers. Farmworkers are often migrants and in addition to their work-related risks, they may also experience stressors related to immigration, social isolation, and more.

The goal of the Great Lakes Center for Farmworker Health and Wellbeing (GLCFHW) is to ensure safe working conditions, fair and equitable employment, social protections, and access to healthcare for migrant and seasonal farmworkers. To achieve this goal, the center conducts original research to understand and improve the factors that affect farmworker health and wellbeing; collects, reports, and displays data on the location of farmworkers in Illinois (IL) and on the occupational injuries they experience; and partners with organizations that provide health, social, and legal supports to protect the health and wellbeing of farmworkers.

In November of 2023, the GLCFHW released its first ever annual report highlighting the progress of its inaugural year and the valuable lessons learned. Read the details in the full annual report.