Thanksgiving is around the corner, marking the beginning of the busiest grocery shopping season of the year. But behind the turkey, yams, and cranberries are essential grocery workers, gearing up to make sure families across the country can enjoy their holiday meal.

For four years, I’ve worked at Whole Foods in Philadelphia, where I load boxes of produce into massive coolers. Let me paint you a picture: It’s a chilly November morning. I clock in for my shift and head to the warehouse. As my coworker drives huge pallets of produce down from the delivery trucks, it’s my responsibility to load those boxes into the cooler. I move tons of produce — literally. A single pallet could have a hundred boxes on it, and each box can weigh 50 pounds. On an average shift, I move nine pallets into the co

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