Calling all members of the Fair Food Nation! Take action to demand justice for farmworkers by contacting Kroger and demanding the grocery giant join the Fair Food Program!
Earlier this year, Kroger – who has long resisted the call from farmworkers and consumers to join the award-winning Fair Food Program to prevent human rights abuses – was identified by the Department of Labor as a purchaser of watermelons harvested by modern-day slaves in the latest federal slavery prosecution to come out of Florida, US v. Moreno.
While harvesting watermelons and other produce, these workers in Kroger’s own supply chain were trapped in dilapidated housing surrounded by barbed wire, forced into a deep pit of illegal debt, and threatened with physical harm to themselves or their families if they attempted to leave. Yet, Kroger remains steadfast in its silence.
This Thanksgiving season, we are calling on allies to let Kroger know that now is the time to champion the only proven solution to systemic forced labor in agriculture, the Fair Food Program. Take action in any of the five ways below!
1. Deliver a letter to your local Kroger
If you shop at or live near a Kroger store, we invite you to print out our letter here and hand it to the manager of that store. Consider forming a delegation with family and friends to deliver the letter, and be sure to take pictures to send to us at [email protected]!
You can deliver the letter to any of the following locations: Kroger, Baker’s, City Market, Copps, Dillons, Food 4 Less, Foods Co, Fred Meyer, Fry’s, Gerbes, Harris Teeter, Jay C Food Store, King Soopers, Mariano’s, Metro Market, Pay-Less Super Markets, Pick ’n Save, Owen’s, QFC, Ralphs, Roundy’s, Ruler, and Smith’s Food and Drug.
2. Call Kroger
Click-to-call using this link or dial 1-800-576-4377. To speak with a service representative, press 8 then 3 after listening to the menu options. Once they are on the line, follow our script below or speak from the heart to let them know that it’s time for Kroger to join the Fair Food Program!
3. Start a live chat with Kroger and copy/paste script
Click “Launch Live Chat” at https://www.kroger.com/hc/help/contact-us
You can skip the menu options by typing “speak to human” into the chat until the automated service connects you with an agent. You do not have to provide your name or email address. You can press “skip” on all options about which department and issue you wish to direct your chat. Kroger’s automated service will then connect you with a live agent. You may have to wait a few minutes before connecting with one, but keep the tab open and stay online! Once you are connected to someone, simply share the Fair Food Nation’s message (below) into the chat! You can stay online to respond to the agent, or you can simply exit the tab.
4. Email Kroger
Click-to-email using this link or write an email to [email protected] with the suggested title: “It’s time for Kroger to join the Fair Food Program” and include your message for the body of the email. You may copy/paste our suggested script below and personalize it as you see fit.
5. Share our Instagram post and tag Kroger! @krogerco
Join us on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter), and LinkedIn to demand that Kroger join the Fair Food Program. You can re-post from the CIW or comment directly on Kroger’s posts!
Script:
Hello,
As a customer at Kroger, I am deeply troubled by your corporation’s refusal to join the Fair Food Program, especially in light of publicized findings of modern-day slavery in Kroger’s supply chain. In this case, workers were trapped in dilapidated housing surrounded by barbed wire, forced into a deep pit of illegal debt, and threatened with physical harm to themselves or their families if they attempted to leave. Kroger sold watermelons that these workers were forced to pick in its stores to unsuspecting consumers like me.
Fortunately, there is a proven solution to forced labor in agriculture that Kroger has refused to join for ten years — the Fair Food Program. Under this program, the market strength of large buyers of produce helps enforce workers’ human rights and safety, protecting them against abuses such as sexual violence, wage theft, dangerous working conditions, and retaliation for speaking up for their rights. Kroger currently lags behind its competitors like Ahold, Trader Joe’s, and Whole Foods who have all joined the Fair Food Program.
Clearly, there is a human rights crisis happening in Kroger’s supply chain. Now is the time for Kroger to take responsibility for the farmworkers who make your profits possible and protect their basic rights by joining the Fair Food Program.
Thank you for your consideration. I sincerely hope Kroger will do the right thing.
