Together with 90,000 who signed the Wendy’s petition last week, that’s over a quarter million people who took action for Fair Food in just the past month!

Rest assured, the Fair Food Nation hasn’t forgotten about Publix! Even as Wendy’s has been sweating it out on the front burner of the Campaign for Fair Food over the past few weeks, the Florida-based supermarket giant has by no means been getting a break. From right here at home in Florida to the international anti-trafficking movement, Fair Food activists have been bringing the heat on the Publix front.

Some weeks ago, we were proud to announce that Walk Free, a leader in the international anti-slavery movement, had launched a powerful e-action to call on Publix to support human rights in the fields:

“… But a major U.S. supermarket chain, Publix Super Markets, is refusing to support the Fair Food Program. Publix continues to buy tomatoes from growers that are not partners of the Fair Food Program and where workers still toil beyond the reach of its proven protection from modern slavery.

Will Publix Super Markets, which prides itself on making Fortune’s ‘Best Companies to Work For’ list, continue to turn a blind eye and give excuses, or will it leverage its vast market influence and lead the way in cleaning up slavery in the tomato supply chain once and for all?

Tell Publix to make the right decision to join the Fair Food Program and ensure our tomatoes meet the highest human rights standards in the food industry today.” read more

And now, only two weeks later, people from all over the country — and all over the world — have spoken. A resounding 161,000 people have weighed in on Publix’s indefensible decision to turn its back on human rights!

We want to thank our friends at Walk Free for spreading the word about the Fair Food Program — and the many thousands of people who also added their voices to the call for Publix to do the right thing. Together with the 90,000 signatures handed in at the Wendy’s shareholder meeting last week in New York, that’s over a quarter million people who have taken action for Fair Food in the last month alone!

In addition to this massive wave of support on the national and global level, the pressure continues to rise right here in the heart of Publix territory as well — especially among the Campaign’s newest Fair Food group on the Treasure Coast, who have lifted both pens and picket signs in recent weeks in support of the CIW. A hard-hitting op-ed was published in the Palm Beach Post by former Executive Director of the Church World Service, Lani Havens, asking the question on everyone’s mind: Why won’t Publix join the effort to help Florida’s farmworkers?

“Last month at a White House forum on human trafficking, the Florida-based Fair Food Program was celebrated as “one of the most successful and innovative programs” in addressing what has been an intractable problem around the world: modern-day slavery. Two weeks later, the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights lauded the same group at a press conference in Washington.

Yet despite the constant recognition of this unique partnership among farmworkers, growers, corporate food giants and consumers as the model for social responsibility in the American produce industry, Publix is soon to complete its fourth year of refusing to join. As a new Publix store opens this weekend in Vero Beach, a group of community leaders and clergy have been calling the company’s human rights standards into question. […]

Eleven multi-billion-dollar retailers have joined the Fair Food Program, among them McDonalds, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. So have 90 percent of Florida’s tomato growers. Yet Publix, Florida’s largest corporation and our hometown grocer, refuses even to discuss with farmworkers joining the program. In the last few weeks, Publix has not only intensified advertising about its tomatoes, but it has been championing its sourcing from Red Diamond and Flavor 1st, two of the few tomato companies that have yet to join the Fair Food Program.

We like Publix. It has done a lot of good in our communities. Indeed, in the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel last month, Publix Board Chairman Carol Jenkins Barnett wrote, “We take our responsibility seriously to inform the community and our policymakers of the issues facing our children and families — and provide proven solutions to address those crucial concerns.”

Where our food comes from is a crucial concern for our families. Fortunately for Publix and its shoppers, there is a proven solution: the Fair Food Program. We want to shop at Publix, but we want food that is fair to those who grow it, fair to those who sell it and fair to those who harvest it.” read more

In addition to penning this excellent op-ed, Treasure Coast Fair Food packed up their signs and headed out to greet the new Publix mentioned in the piece, Fair Food style. The small but passionate delegation spoke with the new manager, delivering both a manager letter and a copy of Lani’s op-ed — in case there was any doubt that local customers were serious about not only healthy food but Fair Food.

And there’s just no way we could keep the Treasure Coast’s high-spirited report from the front lines to ourselves, so here it is:

“Lots of waves, honks and “thumbs up” for Fair Food! Hey, Publix, take note: The Coalition of Immokalee Workers has a new advocacy chapter on the Treasure Coast: Treasure Coast Fair Food. We’re here, we shop, we want Fair Food, and we won’t stop until we get it!”

It seems appropriate to end today’s Publix update with a quotation from Pastor Miguel Estrada’s beautiful speech during the March for Rights, Respect and Fair Food earlier this year, where he reminded the marchers — and Publix — why it is we were in the streets: “We are not against Publix. We are against injustice. We are inviting them to come to the table…”

And we will continue to invite them, until they come.