2012 Northeast Tour
Carlisle, PA
4/13/12
Following an idyllic ride through the hilly countryside of Pennsylvania, the Tour crew arrived at the Carlisle, PA , headquarters of Ahold, the Dutch parent company of Stop & Shop and Giant brand supermarket chains. No sooner had they set foot in the parking lot than the Tour crew was greeted by ten students from Dickinson College affiliated with the school's "Students Interested in Sustainable Agriculture" (SISA) and "Students for Social Action" groups. As the students and the group from Immokalee were getting to know each other through introductions and a quick and dirty parking lot presentation on the Campaign for Fair Food, still more allies appeared, representatives of the UFCW who are leading their own struggle to organize Ahold USA's fast-growing Carlisle division. |
The presentation finished, the group - now numbering almost 30 - approached Ahold's USA headquarters under a beautiful mid-day sun... |
... only to be intercepted, once again, by company representatives, who seem to have a thing for open air get together. Three security guards quickly informed the group that, as it was mid-afternoon on a Friday, no one would be able to receive them, despite the fact that they had traveled all the way form Immokalee. The guards seemed unmoved when it was pointed out to them that at that very moment -- mid-afternoon on a Friday -- under a hot sun in pesticide-laden fields, there were probably thousands of farmworkers hard at work, harvesting the tomatoes sold in Ahold stores. |
The rejection filled the Dickinson students in the group -- who had only learned about the CIW visit a few days before -- with new energy and commitment to the struggle. After the main delegation had concluded, the students attempted to schedule their own follow-up meeting with Ahold executives, only to get the same "leave us your contact information" non-response that so many other allies have gotten from the supermarket giant. |
After the delegation and action, the tour crew joined the Dickinson students back at their campus for dinner and a sprawling discussion that, of course, ran well past its scheduled time. The meeting was a virtual seminar -- Campaign for Fair Food 101 -- covering everything from CIW history,to the role of the Student/Farmworker Alliance and other consumers in the CIW's victories, wrapping up with a brainstorming session on how the students could help the Campaign for Fair Food take root and grow in Ahold USAs' backyard. Next up: Philadelphia! |