We have a long-standing tradition of supporting non-profit organizations in our community that work to preserve our environment, build our food systems. Specifically, Plate & Pitchfork is dedicated to supporting organizations that are working to:
- Utilize innovative ideas to eradicate hunger and malnutrition
- Cultivate food systems that are healthy, sustainable and just
Our beneficiary this year is Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN). The organization’s mission is to empower farmworkers and working Latinx families in Oregon by building community, increasing Latinx representation in elections, and policy advocacy on both the national and state levels.
PCUN values the ability for workers to take action against exploitation and all of its effects, and continues to build an agenda that strengthens workers rights by creating safer workplaces, advocating for fair wages, and pushing for enough economic security to care for their families.
There are more than 174,000 farm workers in Oregon and the history of our community of farmworkers dates back to the early 1940s when thousands of Latino workers first came to the Willamette Valley as part of an agreement between the US and Mexico called the Bracero Program.The US was in dire need of an agricultural workforce as a result of the countries participation in World War II. The program lasted until 1946 and was considered a grand success in supplying food to the American people throughout the war.In 1964 the program was ended by both governments.
Farmworkers remain a vital part of Oregon’s growth and economic success, without them neither crops nor livestock would make it from the field to your tables.