This year's Encuentro closed with a spirit of unity and common purpose as almost 90 students and youth from across the country - just some of which are pictured here - representing dozens of different states and campuses from California to New York to Texas gathered in Immokalee, the birthplace of this movement for Fair Food and justice in the fields.

Almost a week earlier, the amazing food team and members of the SFA Steering Committee, pictured above, started to roll into town to help with all the last-minute preparations. A huge shout-out goes to Jaime and Natalia who kept our bellies full with great food, fueling us through the weekend's discussions, workshops and activities.

Speaking of activity... After the opening ceremonies Thursday night, Encuentro participants laced up their shoes and boarded two buses for the 2-hour drive to Miami to give the executives at Burger King a piece of our minds - and this letter, an oversized version of which is pictured above.

An excerpt from the letter reads, As a result of your actions, your company now stands on the brink of a protracted conflict. Your only exit is to work directly with the CIW to ensure fairer wages and real rights for farmworkers. We firmly believe these changes are inevitable. The question is simply how long will it take...

The action at BK headquarters was loud and lively, despite the oppressive heat and glaring sun. A delegation that included representatives from United Students Against Sweatshops, Movimiento Estudantil Chicano/a de Aztlan, United Students for Fair Trade, Student Labor Action Project, SFA, and some local Miami-based students delivered the letter as well as the message that sooner or later, BK is going to have to come to the table and address the human rights crisis in its tomato supply chain.

Another message sent at the action was that of the impending national mobilization and march on Burger King headquarters this November 30...

(Click here for a photo slideshow with many more great pics from the action, and here for the video!)

Back in Immokalee, we had built our organizing skills for the campaign thanks to a great workshop put on by our friends from the School of Unity and Liberation and SLAP. We're looking forward to putting those skills and strategies into use over the next few months...

We also delved into the insidious world of branding behind Burger King, thanks to an amazing workshop put on by our new allies and friends from Austin, Texas. Workshop participants viewed several Burger King ads courtesy of ad agency CP&B - from "Blingo" the Latino rapper to a bizarre spot featuring women dressed up as condiments and plopped onto an oversized burger.

With its shtick largely based in racist and sexist depictions, CP&B has helped BK's sales skyrocket over recent years, particularly by appealing to young, male, repeat customers. As in the Taco Bell and McDonald's campaigns, it's up to us to deconstruct this brand image and reveal the truth of poverty and human rights abuses on which BK and the fast-food industry are really built.

Throughout the weekend, we had the opportunity to discuss our work within the context of larger systems of oppression and movements for liberation, and larger ideas about what it means to be allies with farmworkers, such as in this workshop led by some key allies from this year's Chicago mobilization.

Speaking of larger contexts, some new friends made the trip down from North Carolina to perform Danza Azteca near the CIW office, reminding us of the indigenous roots - and future - of Immokalee and many of the communities CIW members have been displaced from in Mexico and Guatemala.

And no SFA or CIW event would be complete without our friends from Son del Centro of El Centro Cultural de Mexico in Santa Ana, California. Their beautiful music of resistance - Son Jarocho - provided the perfect backdrop for the Encuentro.

And it also wouldn't be a gathering in Immokalee without some kind of snafu involving the air conditioning, sending sweltering Encuentro participants outside to partake in some fun with this hose... It may not be the fanciest building in the world, but we thank the Guadalupe Church for letting us use Sanders Hall, the very same place where the CIW had some of its earliest community meetings.

In workshops led by the CIW, students learned about that early history, including years of gritty, popular-education-based organizing, work stoppages and a 30-day hunger strike, and the strategic decision to start looking at the role of large purchasers of tomatoes, and with that, the launch of the Campaign for Fair Food.

And just as quickly as it had started, the Encuentro came to a close on Labor Day, with a few final goodbyes, new consciousness, commitment and friendships built, and a promise by the CIW's student and youth allies to relentlessly carry the campaign forward until Burger King does the right thing: work with the CIW to improve wages and working conditions for the thousands of men and women who harvest its tomatoes.

Now let's make it happen.