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Farmworkers marching from the farming community of Pahokee, Florida, to the billionaire enclave of Palm Beach carry a papier-mâché model of the parallel worlds of agriculture: the bright, hopeful world illuminated by the Fair Food Program and the dark, violent world beyond its protections.
John, it's week three of the Sustainer Drive!
Since the inception of the Fair Food Program over a decade ago in Immokalee, two parallel worlds have existed side-by-side within US agriculture: the world of freedom from abuse on farms under the FFP, and the world of harsh exploitation outside its industry-leading protections.
Inside the world of the Fair Food Program, workers have the power and the tools to be the frontline monitors of their own rights, without fear of retaliation. Outside the Program, farmworkers are subjected to a litany of human rights abuses, including sexual harassment and abuse, wage theft, and even modern-day slavery.
“You’re not in Florida anymore… When we’re up here, what I say goes, not the CIW!”
Those were the words of a crewleader speaking to his crew on a farm in Georgia during the early years of the Fair Food Program, before the FFP had expanded to additional states and crops. Workers used the Fair Food Program’s hotline to report their crewleader’s thinly-veiled threat, but at that time the crewleader was right—there was nothing we could do to reassure the workers because the FFP’s groundbreaking protections didn’t extend to Georgia’s fields… yet.
However, thanks to the CIW’s national expansion, workers on that farm in Georgia are now empowered by the FFP, including its heat stress protocols, which mandate the provision of drinking water, electrolytes and rest breaks along with protections against wage theft, sexual harassment at the hands of crewleaders, and retaliation. For any issue they may face, farmworkers on this GA farm and all other FFP farms can contact the program’s 24/7, free and confidential hotline operated by highly trained human rights investigators.
Workers often bear witness to the unique power of the Fair Food Program, and the stories they tell only underscore the urgent need to bring the Program to every corner of the country.
In fact, after an education session at a Fair Food Program farm, an H2-A worker (a guest worker on a temporary visa) said that he wanted to speak to someone from the FFSC in order to see if anything could be done about the conditions at a non-Fair Food Program company where he had completed an H2-A contract the previous season. At this non-FFP farm, he said that there were no protections for the workers there. In addition to housing that was infested with roaches and rats, workers had to labor on in the rain, even with the danger of lightning, and without breaks. He acknowledged that there was a “great difference” between farms in the Fair Food Program and farms outside of the Program and wanted to know if anything could be done to improve conditions at that farm.
The hope of the Fair Food Program is that it eventually expands to cover all farmworkers across the U.S. and beyond. We’ve proven that we can expand the Program, and quickly. The Fair Food Program is now present in 19 states, and ten of those states were added in 2024 alone. But there are still far, far more farmworkers who toil beyond the reach of the program’s powerful protections than those who harvest our food in an environment of dignity and respect. Indeed, the CIW continuously uncovers and helps to prosecute modern-day slavery cases outside the reaches of the FFP, including the recent case US v. Moreno, which came to light [[link removed]] after two workers jumped over a barbed wire-laden fence, hid in the trunk of a car, and called the CIW for help against the rampant abuse and threats they were receiving.
To reach those workers who still desperately need the FFP’s help, we need your support. [[link removed]]
By giving monthly, [[link removed]] you can give at an amount that is sustainable both for you and for the expansion of our work. Your support will help fuel the expansion of the Program to additional states and crops and support our ambitious, overarching aim: to guarantee that U.S. agriculture, which for centuries has relied on the exploitation of farmworkers, can finally enter a new day of human rights. Together, we can ensure there is only one reality of agriculture—one that protects the dignity of farmworkers through the Fair Food Program.
BECOME A SUSTAINER TODAY! [[link removed]]
And stay tuned next week for an exploration of the FFP’s Worker-driven Social Responsibility model, and how it is expanding to offer the same protections and hope in new industries.
Other ways you can support the Coalition of Immokalee Workers today:
* Browse our merch store [[link removed]] and wear your Fair Food gear while you're out and about.
* Do you have a friend, neighbor, or colleague interested in learning more about the Fair Food Program? Invite them to join our email list [[link removed]] to learn more about our groundbreaking approach.
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Coalition of Immokalee Workers
110 S 2nd St
Immokalee, FL 34142
United States
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