I had a nice breakfast today. Covered all of my food groups. It was fresh and tasty – which is pretty easy to do in California, even when we’re just emerging from winter. And I thought, as I often do when I’m eating a quiet meal, about the many farmers and ranchers, skilled workers and other professionals whose work makes these meals possible.
Having now spent eight years as California’s agriculture secretary, my next thoughts naturally tend to the people here at CDFA and in other public service capacities who support what our agricultural community does. It’s such an important role – ensuring food safety and quality, making sure supplies are steady and reliable, enabling and encouraging innovation that makes us safer and more efficient, less wasteful, more sustainable.
Throughout the year, there are several greeting-card-inspired occasions that provide opportunities for various industries and employers to express their appreciation to workers. One of these “employee appreciation days” was just last week, and supervisors and managers in our office took part in the occasion by bringing baked goods to the morning meeting, or by taking staff to lunch or providing coffee or snacks.
It strikes me how often these “thank-yous” include food and drink, regardless of the person, office or industry doing the thanking. It’s quite a compliment to our growers, and to our public servants who support them, that the product of our labor is so widely considered a gift and so often placed at the center of a celebration.
I hope my staff at CDFA understand how much I appreciate what they do to support the industry that I love and the community that raised me. I hope as well that our growers understand how hard we work to help them.
Each time a consumer (like me) sits down to a safe, nutritious, flavorful, fresh meal, that’s “employee appreciation day” around here.