Orange County Interfaith Committee to Aid Farmworkers
Founded by the late Nat and Rusty Kennedy with assistance from Reverend Chris Hartmire, the first Executive Director of NFWM; the late Jean Giordano; and Frank Forbath, the Orange County Interfaith Committee to Aid Farmworkers (OCIC) is the oldest farm labor support group in the nation. “Jean [Giordano] would host
Olgha Sierra Sandman
“My children and my church say to me, ‘you did so much for farm workers’ and I say ‘there is nothing I did. I have learned so much, it’s like a treasure what they [farm workers] have given me.” Olgha Sierra Sandman is a monumental figure in the National Farm
Nan Freeman
On January 25, 1972, 18-year-old Jewish college student Nan Freeman was picketing with farm workers on strike at the Talisman Sugar Plant near Belle Grade, Florida. Nan was passing out leaflets to drivers when a truck carrying 70,000 pounds of sugar cane drove into the entrance. The truck and trailer
Mt. Olive Pickle Company Boycott
“The Mt. Olive Pickle boycott changed the way agriculture is done in North Carolina,” according to Julie Taylor, Executive Director of the National Farm Worker Ministry. In 1999, the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) launched a national boycott of Mt. Olive Pickles, demanding higher wages and safer working conditions for
Ministry of the Dispossessed: Learning from the Farm Worker Movement
“The poor in many places call on the Church to risk comfort and privilege for the sake of God’s peace and justice. Pat Hoffman’s book is not only clear and readable and historically important, it also points the way for the Church to learn from the poor and to gain
Member Organizations
“The farm worker movement has to stay connected to the faith community,” said Baldemar Valasquez, President of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee. “It’s the churches that have helped us get where we are. In 53 years of organizing, the cornerstone of having a moral base has been more important or
Hector Rodriguez
Born and raised in the border town of Eagle Pass, Texas, current board president Rev. Hector R. Rodriguez was drawn to a life of service and faith. Hector’s commitment to the farm workers began as a young boy in the 1950s when he accompanied a leader from his church to
Sakuma/Driscoll Berries Boycott
From 2016, Gabi Rios, a former member of the NFWM Youth and Young Adult Network and then, president of Farm Worker Ministry-Northwest recounts the meeting: “I went in [alone] and it was what you would expect. He (the CEO of Sakuma Bros. Berries) tried to make arguments about how they
Cumberland Presbyterian Acceptance Letter
In 1981, the National Farm Worker Ministry accepted the application of Cumberland Presbyterian Church as it noted in this letter provided by Reverend Joy Warren, current NFWM Board Member. Only 10 years into the organization’s national name and role, the letterhead reflects the transition from the work as the National
The Campbell’s Soup Boycott
When Baldemar Valesquez and the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) began to gain traction for its boycott of Campbell’s Soup Company in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Ministry took its first big step out of California and onto the national stage, recalled Valesquez. The boycott followed the strike
Members Calendar
A specially curated year calendar having HQ pictures of Artifacts and Galleries. Join to grab it
