By Alissa White, Photojournalist -- whitea12@up.edu
We are all consumers. We all must eat to survive. But who provides us with this food?
After spending six days in Yakima, Wash. on the Rural Plunge, I not only witnessed firsthand the hard work that goes into putting food on my table, but I realized that the jobs necessary to provide me with this food are in dire need of respect.
The plunge spanned from the first Sunday of fall break to Friday afternoon. The week ended up being a wonderful balance between emotionally intense information and energetic excitement. We visited a variety of farms and organizations that provide educational and social support to immigrant men and women. We also went to a childcare facility for low-income families and spoke with an immigration lawyer.
The most beneficial aspect of the plunge was simply being able to converse with those who have been directly impacted by seasonal labor and issues of immigration. The work these people do is hard, but it is work that the families take pride in. If I have learned anything from this plunge, it is that there is no room for pity, but rather for respect and providing a sense of dignity to the labor that is done to keep the agricultural industry running.
Some important wisdom I was given on the plunge was from a woman working to become a U.S. citizen. Despite her own personal struggles, she turned the conversation on us and encouraged us to follow our dreams, to take advantage of the opportunities we have been given in this country and realize anything is possible. If she has had the strength and motivation to learn a second language, raise a family, work in the fields and become a citizen, then I feel we all can set aside our minor complaints and be grateful for everything we have been given.
