Fair Food Austin: Road Trip: Texas Regional Encuentro

February 22, 2010

Road Trip: Texas Regional Encuentro

University of Houston, March 6-7

This gathering will bring together approximately 50 students and youth from around Texas to host workshops, strategize and take action around the Campaign for Fair Food.

Contact cristian[at]sfalliance.org to join the Fair Food Austin caravan!

From huge Aramark contracts at the University of Houston and UT-Austin to Sodexo's presence in the Valley, from this spring's three-day march on supermarket chain Publix's headquarters in Florida to local struggles against Kroger right here in Texas, our work as farmworker allies has never been as crucial or as exciting. This critical moment in the campaign is the backdrop for our regional encuentro and highlights how important -- and exciting -- this meeting will be.

Program highlights include:

Skill-building workshops on campus and community organizing;
Strategy sessions around the next year in the Dine with Dignity and Supermarket Campaigns;
Two energetic actions targeting Aramark and Kroger;
Planning for the upcoming Farmworker Freedom March.

See you in Houston!

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.