Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response • Have you downloaded COVIDWISE, Virginia's COVID-19 exposure notification app? Add your phone to the fight here. For up-to-date information, assistance, and resources from across state government, click here.
WHEREAS, people at all levels of the agriculture sector have worked tirelessly to ensure a stable food supply in the face of incredible challenges prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, farmworkers have been on the frontline against the COVID-19 pandemic, helping feed our families and communities; and
WHEREAS, during the pandemic, farmworkers, who have always been vital to our food system, continued to grow, harvest, and package food, often at great personal risk; and
WHEREAS, a large part of our agricultural workforce include migrant farmworkers and we recognize their sacrifice to leave their home countries; and
WHEREAS, agriculture is Virginia’s largest private industry; and
WHEREAS, production agriculture employs nearly 54,000 farmers and workers; and
WHEREAS, farmworkers are #AlwaysEssential and they deserve our gratitude, care, and support;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Governor Ralph S. Northam, do hereby recognize March 31, 2021, as FARMWORKERS DAY in our COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the attention of all our citizens.