Farmworker Awareness Week is March 25-31!
Over the years, we have had our share of wonderful people who have contributed to what Wholesum is today. In observance of this special time, we want to highlight farmworker excellence and bring you stories of the people behind the produce! Today, we’d like to tell you about one of our best greenhouse crop workers, Crisanta Morales.
21 years ago, Crisanta Morales, originally from Veracruz, Mexico moved to Sonora, Mexico in search of better opportunities for her family and her future. This landed her at Wholesum Farms Sonora in her first agricultural job. Through the years, she has grown alongside the company as a respected employee, adapting to changes and new technologies and leaving a mark for her peers and the community around her.
Crisanta is one of the few who can successfully take on any role within any of our greenhouses, from picking tomatoes or cucumbers to pruning trusses. Regardless of the task, or even the crop, she performs with excellence and has a knack for training others as well! She shares her knowledge and experience generously, ensuring that fellow coworkers are not only proficient but also inspired to excel.
Beyond her work in the farm, Crisanta has shown remarkable personal development. In 2012, Wholesum obtained Fair Trade Certification. The positive changes of the program were promising, but the adjustment would take significant efforts to navigate. As new processes were being implemented, a brand new committee composed of Wholesum’s workforce would be elected for the very first time. This was when Crisanta was nominated and elected as the first treasurer of the Fair Trade Committee.
As a member of the very first committee, Crisanta didn’t have an example to go by and grew into her role from the bottom, step by step, day by day, and project by project. Through time, this role helped her build skills beyond what she imagined. As committee treasurer, she had a budget to manage, projects to implement, and tasks to delegate. She settled into her leadership well, building on her arsenal of professional skills. Crisanta also became an ambassador for the program, showing her peers its potential to impact their lives in a meaningful way. The first project implemented by the committee, one in which she takes pride for her contribution, was a school bus program providing transportation for school children in the community. This is one of the most impactful projects to date, opening doors for students whose families had no form of transportation and helping expand access to education for children.
In her personal life, Crisanta has set an example of resilience and generosity. In 2022, she faced an awful hardship, losing her sister, Leonides to a battle with cancer. In the face of this tragedy, Crisanta felt that she had to step up any way she could to support the family her sister left behind. Leonides was a mother of three. Two of her children were now adults, but the third was her 15 year old son. Despite having her own family and son to care for, without hesitation, Crisanta opted to take her nephew into her home and care for him as her own.
Before her death, Leonides had also begun building a home, a project she never got to see come to fruition. Crisanta was committed to see this project to the end and applied to receive financial support from the Fair Trade Committee to finish building the house. Thanks to her commitment, resourcefulness and the support received, her sister’s children have a finished home, an inheritance and legacy from their mother. A few years later, in 2023, Crisanta embarked on a journey to become a homeowner herself, setting an example to her peers of what diligence and motivation can accomplish.
Crisanta’s journey is one that exemplifies resilience, determination and commitment to positive change in the community. In 2022, in front of a crowd of over 500 people, she stood on the stage of Wholesum’s very first Impact Festival alongside Fair Trade USA’s CEO, Paul Rice and proudly shared her story.
Crisanta is a true inspiration. For all she has contributed to her coworkers, community and family, we felt her story should be highlighted during this month of farmworker awareness!
