Harvesting Hope/Pennies For Publix Photo report November 15, 2010


The first-ever “Harvesting Hope interfaith community event” hit Naples this past weekend with a whirlwind of activities spread over three days, including a radio panel on farm labor issues broadcast on the local NPR affiliate, a visit by the CIW’s Modern-Day Slavery Museum, several opportunities for worship at the Vanderbilt Presbyterian Church, children’s activities, a Publix protest, a great benefit concert…


… and a keynote panel, pictured above, on the topic of “Justice in the Fields and Beyond,” including presentations by Lucas Benitez of the CIW (middle) and Detective Charlie Frost (left) of the Collier County Sheriff’s Department Human Trafficking Unit.

The panel also included Doug Molloy, Chief Assistant US Attorney based in Ft. Myers, whose experience prosecuting many of Florida’s modern-day slavery operations lent an enormous amount of authority to the discussion, as did its moderator, Dr. Wilson G. Bradshaw, President of Florida Gulf Coast University…

… all of which added up to a rare mix of real world experience and informed analysis on the topic of modern-day slavery, for which the crowd was clearly appreciative.

The panel was followed by a marvelous workshop led by members of local congregations entitled “Standing Up for Justice: Transforming Belief into Action.”

Meanwhile, for anyone who wanted to expand his or her understanding of the history and evolution of forced labor in Florida’s fields, the CIW’s Modern-Day Slavery Museum stood at the ready outside Vanderbilt Presbyterian Church to provide a yet deeper examination of just why such a heinous violation of human rights persists today in the 21st century.

On Sunday afternoon, after several church services in the morning (with sermons by guest preacher, the Rev. Noelle Damico, on Isaiah 65:17-25 and Luke 4:16-21), it was time to unfurl our banners and demand a little respect from supermarket giant Publix, who — despite historic advances in relations between farmworkers calling for Fair Food and some of Florida’s largest tomato growers — continues to turn a deaf ear to consumer calls for a justice in its tomato supply chain.

Some people made their own banners for the march, including this simple but compelling re-purposing of a Publix shopping bag…

… while others in the crowd, which swelled to more than 150 under the afternoon sun, made signs (like the one on the left that reads “Why coffee but not tomatoes???”) focusing on Publix’s untenable double standard when it comes to marketing Fair Trade coffee while stiff-arming the Campaign for Fair Food.

While the remarkably diverse crowd of protesters continued their peaceful public witness (for many, it was their first-ever protest, inspired to action after a rousing weekend of education on both the human rights crisis in Florida’s fields and how people of faith are taking action for justice!)…

… a delegation of religious leaders rolled toward the Publix entrance…


… with a load of thousands of pennies collected, as part of the “Pennies for Publix” campaign, in churches across the Southwest Florida area.

While the pennies were given with the expressed intention that Publix hold them in escrow until the day it finally decides to do the right thing and support the Campaign for Fair Food, Publix had arranged for a Salvation Army representative to meet the delegation and immediately passed the pennies on to the charitable organization…


… which provided a central theme of the closing address to the marchers, in which Gerardo Reyes of the CIW underscored the injustice of a world where people who work 10-12 hours per day, sometimes 7 days a week, doing some of this country’s hardest labor picking our fruits and vegetables, should earn so little that they would need to rely on charity to put food on their own tables.

All in all, Harvesting Hope was a great success, and served to send an unmistakable message to Publix and the rest of the supermarket industry that it is time, now, to support the Campaign for Fair Food and its vision of real social responsibility.