Fair Food Austin: Announcing "Fair Food Fridays!"

October 21, 2008

Announcing "Fair Food Fridays!"

On October 19th, members of Fair Food Austin came together to map the future of the Campaign for Fair Food locally. Several exciting projects are now underway, including the launch of Fair Food Fridays -- a recurring weekly event to create consciousness among consumers and maintain pressure on chains such as Chipotle and Subway who still refuse to take steps to improve the wages and working conditions of tomato pickers in their supply chains.

Starting on October 24th, join Fair Food Austin every Friday at noon at the Chipotle across from the University of Texas (2230 Guadalupe St.) for this brief but powerful demonstration of your support for fair food. Wear your CIW and SFA t-shirts if you got 'em; we'll provide flyers.

Also, Fair Food Austin is proud to co-sponsor the UT Palestine Solidarity Committee's free screening of "9 Star Hotel." The film screening and discussion takes place on Thursday, October 30th, at 7PM at UT campus (Burdine 216).

Who We Are

Since 2001, Fair Food Austin has organized with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) for fair wages and dignified working conditions in the U.S. agricultural industry. The CIW is a farmworker organization headquartered in Immokalee, Florida with over 4,000 members. The CIW has aided in the prosecution by the Department of Justice of six slavery operations and the liberation of well over 1,000 workers.

We use creative methods to educate consumers about the human rights crisis farmworkers face and to promote the Campaign for Fair Food. The campaign requires large food corporations -- from Taco Bell to Whole Foods -- to demand more humane labor standards from their Florida tomato suppliers, to pay a premium price for more fairly produced tomatoes, and to buy only from growers who meet those higher standards.

Brutal conditions in Florida's fields may seem distant to consumers deep in the heart of Texas, but many of the restaurant and supermarket chains that have helped create this crisis are present in our community and buy Florida tomatoes at some point during the year. Human rights are universal, and by working together, farmworkers and consumers can create a better world.