Goal:
To convince Publix Super Markets to sign the Fair Food Program, guaranteeing that tomatoes sold in their stores are slavery-free.
Summary:
The Fair Food Program is working to enforce a policy of zero tolerance for slavery on tomato farms, fighting against large farms where countless workers are held against their will, threatened with violence, forced to haul hundreds of heavy tomato buckets a day, and all for little to no pay. This petition campaign was launched to tackle forced labor and exploitation of workers on Florida’s tomato farms. However, one major U.S. supermarket chain, Publix Super Markets, has refused to support the Fair Food Program, continuing to buy tomatoes from growers that are not partners of the Fair Food Program. This is despite the fact that their CEO previously signed the Fair Food Program while CEO of Taco Bell.
Outcome:
Despite the signatures from 99,151 advocates, as well as continued pressure and campaigning from our partners at the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Publix has still refused to sign the Fair Food program. We continue to be vigilant in monitoring abuses and looking for opportunities to bring about positive change.
