The Humans Who Feed Us

Thousands of individuals work across the food supply chain ranging from agricultural workers, restaurant workers, grocery store employees, truck drivers, meat and poultry workers, and so many others. Immigrant community members are among those who help to feed us through their work. Many of these workers are often invisible to people and the communities where they work and live even though they touch our lives every day through their life-sustaining labor. 

“The Humans Who Feed Us” is a national project of Justice for Migrant Women and its founder, Mónica Ramírez, to humanize these individuals; to show the interdependence among businesses, the workers they employ and consumers; and to foster a sense of belonging for these incredible community members in the places where they live and work.

“The Humans Who Feed Us” was originally launched in August 2021 in Ohio with a focus on agricultural workers. It was scaled nationally in November 2021 and expanded to include immigrant community members employed across the food supply chain, including dairy, poultry, restaurant and grocery store workers. Together, each of these individuals plays a role to ensure that we each have the food to sustain ourselves and to celebrate special moments. 

In June 2022, Mónica Ramírez was recognized with a James Beard Foundation Leadership Award for her work on “The Humans Who Feed Us” and her career dedicated to advancing the rights of migrant women. The Leadership Award recognizes specific outstanding initiatives as well as bodies of work and lifetime achievement. 

In February, 2023, "The Humans Who Feed Us" was awarded a Gold Anthem Award in the National Awareness Campaign category.

The project counts on the support of ally organizations, including Race Forward,  internationally-renowned Chef Ingrid Hoffmann and other chef partners, as well as more than 100 restaurants, universities and corporations.

There are migrant women who move across international borders, state and county lines to work along the food supply chain and provide for their families. Some of these migrant women are among the 2.1 million immigrant community members who work in jobs growing, harvesting, processing, and selling food in the US, serving an essential role. 

Despite the fact that they were named "essential workers" by government officials of all political backgrounds, companies and consumers during the global pandemic, many of these community members are denied basic rights and face unimaginable challenges. They are also often invisible to the people and the communities where they work and live. 

Add your voice to the growing list of people calling on Congress to provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented individuals who worked in essential sectors during the pandemic. Call on Congress to support the Citizenship for Essential Workers Act.