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As much of the country thaws out from a long and cold winter, farmworker allies across the country are hitting the streets to demand fair food!
In the wake of the Do the Right Thing Tour and major actions in both Boston and Tampa, the Campaign for Fair Food continues stronger than ever, as allies from Nashville to New York, Denver to the Rio Grande Valley have organized actions and events — including flash mobs, coupon giveaways and free "samples of justice" — all to amplify their call for Publix, Ahold, Kroger and Quiznos to step up and sign Fair Food agreements with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. |
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Nashville, TN |
Jacksonville, FL |
In conjunction with a long-awaited visit from the Modern-Day Slavery Museum, Nashville allies — including several members of the new "Vanderbilt Campaign for Fair Food, one of a number of new, student-led groups to form in the past several months — organized an incredible, 2-hour long action on a rainy afternoon outside of one of their local Publix stores.
As the Florida-based supermarket giant continues its expansion efforts to additional states including Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama, the growing contingent of fair food supporters in Nashville, Atlanta and other cities will continue to be a thorn in Publix's side, and continue to educate their own communities about their "new neighbor's" refusal to work with the CIW to guarantee justice and dignity for tomato pickers.
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A few weeks later in North Florida, members of Fair Food Jacksonville gathered for a "fantastic and inspiring" action to remind Publix that even as the campaign extends beyond Florida's borders, residents of its home state are still waiting for it to stop making excuses and work with the CIW!
They were also able use the upcoming Easter holiday as a creative means of sharing their message, filling plastic easter eggs with pennies and printed labels with a quote from the CIW and information about the penny per pound. One participant wrote, "It was a huge success, and we were able to give about 30 out to kids/spectators."
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In New York City, the Community/Farmworker Alliance organized a month of "Fair Food Fridays," each targeting a different Trader Joe's store. CFA members passed out small cups containing one penny, asking Trader Joe's customers: "Would you like to try a sample of justice today?"
This past Friday, the pennies were accompanied by the beautiful coupon below, designed by a member of one of the newest SFA groups, SFA at NYU, whose university also rents space to Trader Joe's. If the energy, excitement and creativity of this great group of students is any indication, things could be getting quite interesting in New York in the coming months...
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Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, students from San Francisco State university organized their own action in Trader Joe's home state of California.
Inspired by a presentation by two members of Bay Area Fair Food, students made their own signs and chants, and wrote a song which they performed inside of their local Trader Joe's. Their message to TJ's customers? "Know where your food comes from!"
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Next up, it was Ahold's turn to feel the heat, and members of Providence Fair Food — fresh off an amazing organizing effort in which they brought over 75 participants to the March to Stop Sweatshops in Boston — organized a spirited action outside of one of their local Stop & Shop stores...
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...and in Washington, D.C. even a gloomy, rainy day couldn't keep the D.C. Fair Food Network and participants in Powershift 2011 from commemorating the 149th anniversary of the emancipation of D.C.'s slaves with an action outside of Ahold's other major supermarket chain, Giant.
In their own words: "we commemorated this momentous decision to reject the notion that labor exploitation, especially in agricultural industries, is an acceptable building block of our food system. In order to build this re-visioning of the country, there is much more work to be done!"
Stay tuned the D.C. Fair Food Network blog for a video of the action!
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In Denver, Denver Fair Food organized its own "Spring Blitz for Farmworker Justice" a series of three actions spanning two weeks that asked Quizno's a simple question: will your customers be saying "Eww... Poverty!" or "Mmm... Dignity?" when they bite into their subs?
The first two actions were attended by a group of Florida tomatoes (above), "outraged" at the abusive conditions they've witnessed in the fields. The tomatoes passed out flyers, spoke with a Quizno's franchisee, and, in the second action, gave a powerful speech inside a Quizno's restaurant, declaring: "Your complicity in the exploitation and abuse of the humble soul who so gently plucked me from the vine that nurtured me is nothing short of shameful."
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The growing discontent with Quizno's was evident further south, as well, where SFA members in Texas' Río Grande Valley celebrated Farmworker Awareness Week by designing and passing out the amazing "living wage coupons" below, and biked several miles to Quizno's as part of the César Chávez/Dolores Huerta Bike Ride.
After passing out hundreds of coupons and sending in a delegation to speak with a Quizno's manager, they committed to continuing their work on the Campaign for Fair Food:
"...we will continue to move forward with open arms, motivated by love, bringing in farmworker and consumer, picker and grower, old and young, until we gain not only an agreement with Quiznos but also a humane agricultural industry with dignity for all."
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"We are the future, and the future is now." |
- Mandy DLF, SFA member, Weslaco, TX |
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These inspiring actions make it more clear than ever that young people across the country are inspired, organized, and committed to the Campaign for Fair Food. So long as these companies continue to refuse to do their part to guarantee that the workers harvesting the tomatoes sold in their stores are paid and treated fairly, we won't be backing down.
Now it's your turn to join us. Organize an action in your community. Start your own local fair food committee (email us for an organizing packet to help get you started). Deliver a manager letter to your local supermarket chain, or Quizno's. Design and mail a postcard as part of SFA's Community Postcard Campaign. Together, we can continue to reform a corporate food industry that, for far too long, as relied on the exploitation of farmworkers. |
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