A note from SFA:
Hello everyone!
Over the course of the past 16 months, all of you have been involved in the Student/Farmworker Alliance's Dine with Dignity campaign -- be it by requesting and distributing buttons on your campus, participating in one of SFA's network-wide conference calls, coordinating your own local organizing effort or otherwise. It's because of all of your efforts that we're able to write you with some very special and exciting news: just yesterday, Sodexo became the fourth leading food service provider (after Bon Appétit, Compass and Aramark) to sign an agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to improve farmworker wages and working conditions!
This victory marks the successful conclusion of our Dine with Dignity campaign, and brings the number of corporations partnering with the CIW to nine, but though this chapter in our organizing has come to a close, we're not done yet. In the words of the CIW:
"...with today's great news from Sodexo, the Campaign for Fair Food completes its first decade -- with the support of the vast majority of the fast-food and foodservice industries now behind us -- and turns to the supermarket industry. This coming season, the battle for the future of Florida's farmworkers will be joined in the produce aisles of your local grocer."
Just as all of you played an integral role in bringing all of this country's leading food service providers to sit at the table with farmworkers, so too can you be a part of encouraging your local supermarket chain to do the same. It's now time for companies such as Publix, Ahold (parent company of Stop & Shop and Giant), Kroger, Trader Joe's and Wal-Mart to also come to the table.
You can started today by downloading the Supermarket Manager Letter, signing it and delivering it your store's manager. (Click here for a map showing which of these corporations operate supermarkets in your area.) You can also contact us for more ideas on how to get involved, including receiving a free batch of supermarket postcards. If you're on Facebook, check out the CIW's page.
Company by company we're building a path towards a better world for farmworkers and consumers alike. We hope you'll join us!
