[[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]]
The newly expanded CIW food cooperative is seeing a jump in sales as the Immokalee community adjusts to life without a large chain grocery store serving the town's 25,000 residents.
In late October, the Winn-Dixie in Immokalee closed its doors [[link removed]] . Its replacement may take six months — or longer — to build. For the thousands of families who call Immokalee home, and whose only major grocery store was that Winn-Dixie, the closure has been devastating.
The nearest full-service supermarket is now about ten miles away in the town of Ave Maria — and far more expensive. For residents who rely on walking or biking to buy groceries, that distance is a serious barrier, made even worse by the added cost of paying for a ride. The few neighborhood markets that remain cannot meet the community’s needs and already charge higher prices for convenience. Those prices are expected to rise even further now.
With the closure of Winn-Dixie, Immokalee now meets the federal definition of a food desert: an area in which it is difficult to buy affordable or good-quality fresh food.
There is a cruel irony in this: The very farmworkers who harvest the fruits and vegetables that feed our nation are now struggling to feed their own families. This is not an isolated crisis, it is a reflection of a broader injustice. Across the United States, far too many of the people who put food on our tables live in food deserts themselves, facing scarcity every day.
As an organization with deep roots in the Immokalee community, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers is responding swiftly to meet this urgent need.
For years, we have operated a small co-op grocery store from our Immokalee office, providing staple foods at affordable prices — just enough to cover the costs of keeping the co-op running. Now, we are expanding the co-op’s offerings and lowering prices even further to ensure no family goes hungry while a new supermarket is built.
Before Winn-Dixie’s closure, the CIW’s co-op served about 200 families each week. We have already seen that number climb as more people come to rely on it as their only feasible option to buy affordable groceries on a regular basis. Your gift today will directly help us buy and distribute healthy food for hundreds of Immokalee families who now have nowhere else to turn.
By donating $50 to $100 today, you can help ensure that 1 to 3 farmworker families have access to affordable groceries for the week. If you’re in a position to give more, you will help us make an even greater impact for the people who feed our country.
DONATE NOW [[link removed]]
If Winn-Dixie’s closure teaches us anything, it is that the fight for food security is part of the larger fight for farmworker justice. Whether we raise wages through the Fair Food Program or reduce the cost of living through the co-op, it’s just two sides of the same struggle to improve farmworkers’ lives. You can help us win that fight today with your generous end-of-year donation to the CIW.
Donate [[link removed]] Merch Store [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]]

Coalition of Immokalee Workers
110 S 2nd St
Immokalee, FL 34142
United States
If you believe you received this message in error or wish to no longer receive email from us, please unsubscribe: [link removed] .