SUCCESSFUL AGRICULTURE ALWAYS STARTS BY TAKING CARE OF THE EMPLOYEES
Nogales, AZ- For Divine Flavor, social responsibility has always been the foundation of the company and the gateway to providing a better life for its employees. The company believes to grow the healthiest and best tasting produce- it starts with how you take care of the workers. This is a philosophy which originated with its parent company, Grupo Alta, and has been a core area emphasized as Divine Flavor has expanded over the years with its vineyards and greenhouses all throughout Mexico and South America. The notion of taking care of the land and its people have translated into producing cleaner, sustainable, and more organic product for consumers around the globe.
In the world of farming and agriculture, there are so many details which go into the day-to-day operation. Farmers are usually up before sunrise and each department prepares their area for a busy day of production. But one of the most important details doesn’t even involve farm work, rather, it focuses on preparing nutritious meals for all the workers at the farm. In charge of making all this happen is Rosa ‘Rossy’ Cortazar, who is the official nutrition coordinator for all of Grupo Alta.
Rossy, who is following in her mother’s footsteps, has been working in Grupo Alta for 15 years and her main responsibility is to plan all the meals for the workers at the farm, ensuring they are healthy and nutritious, and give the workers the energy they need for a day’s work.
“It is important to take good care of our workers and feeding them is the first step of the day for allowing them to be successful at their daily task,” said Rossy. “Our goal is to make sure employees feel they are being taken care of so they feel confident about the work they are doing. Our main goal here at Grupo Alta is to make sure the employees are happy and we do this by making sure they are well nourished, have free medical attention and dental services, and live a better life. We even make traditional foods for them so they can have a taste of home and comfort.”
During the harvest season, bigger farms can have anywhere from 500-2,000 workers who come from various states in Southern Mexico, some from areas where quality of life can be much different than in the northern and central regions. For those seeking employment in the farming industry, Divine Flavor and its farm operations have been a tremendous opportunity as workers are offered good paying jobs and amenities they wouldn’t have access to otherwise.
Through the years, Divine Flavor and Grupo Alta’s partnership with Fair Trade USA have paved a way to not only give back to the farm workers, but also better develop medical care in some of the workers’ hometowns, like this medical facility which was built in Chiapas from Fair Trade community development funds (see story here).
“Grupo Alta is very committed to every employee, not only at the ranches, but also their communities. We really look after their stability, safety, and genuine impact of their life”, said Rossy.
“I’ve been working for Grupo Alta for 15 years and I’m extremely proud to know I’m part of a company with clear objectives. It has been a solid career for me and incredible to witness how the company has grown throughout the years having passion, working hard, and having strong discipline to taking steps of taking care of its workers”.
For more information, please contact:
Michael DuPuis
Public Relations Coordinator
+1 (520)-281-8328
mdupuis@divineflavor.com