The 4 for Fair Food Tour has officially launched and safely arrived in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, ready to join students and local leaders in bringing the Wendy’s Boycott to UNC Chapel Hill’s doorstep next Tuesday, March 5th!

On Friday night, after months of planning and preparation, dozens of farmworkers and their families gathered merrily at the CIW office in Immokalee, excited that the launch of the tour had finally arrived.  Before loading onto the bus, the tour crew, who will be spending the next two weeks traversing the country together and marching through university campuses from Florida to Ohio, took a moment to take a group photo:

And on Saturday, after a long night of driving, the group arrived in high spirits to Raleigh, North Carolina, where they were met by CIW’s Julia de la Cruz and the Alliance for Fair Food’s Alex Schelle, who had been camped out in North Carolina for over a month, laying the groundwork for next week’s march on UNC Chapel Hill’s campus.  A big thanks to the UCC Community Church of Chapel Hill for hosting the CIW for our first lunch!  Having filled our bellies, we headed to the place we will call home for the next several days:  Chapel Hill’s Camp New Hope!

Camp New Hope was a sight for sore eyes, home to acres of gorgeous Southern woods and plenty of space for tour participants to stretch their legs and get ready for the action-filled days ahead.

As is CIW tour tradition, after getting settled in, everyone gathered for a short reflection, centered on every participant’s shared determination to win the Wendy’s Campaign.

The ánimo was equally as strong in the longest-participating community members, some of whom had been on 17 Fair Food tours…

… as in the ones venturing out for their very first on a CIW action.

The day closed with the warm welcome and dinner from the community of the beautiful Episcopal Church of the Advocate in Chapel Hill.  Vicar Lisa Fischbeck gathered the many church members and farmworker families together, asking for God’s blessing not only of the warm food and the hands that picked and prepared it, but also of the marches, vigils, and protests in the days ahead.

And that’s just been Day 1!  Tomorrow, the fun and action really gets started.  Between attending local church services at the United Church of Chapel Hill and St. Thomas More Catholic Church, holding a vigil at the UNC Wendy’s, flyering on campus, picketing in front of the UNC Wendy’s, and – at long last – Tuesday’s major march winding through UNC’s campus, it is promising to be a packed few days! 

For all those in the Triangle Area, please come out and spread the word about to tonight’s Vigil for Farmworker Rights!

When:  March 3rd, 6:00 PM
Where:  UNC’s Wendys (209 South Road, Chapel Hill NC 27514)

If you are in North Carolina, and have not yet finalized your plans to join the march through UNC’s campus on Tuesday, make sure to nail them down!  Farmworkers and allies will be joined by human rights leader and longtime CIW ally Kerry Kennedy, who will be marching alongside the CIW and speaking at the rally along with hundreds of other local leaders from the faith, labor and student communities of the Triangle Area!

When:  March 5th, 2:00 PM
Where: 101 W Weaver St, Carrboro, NC 27510-2017

And finally, don’t forget that we can’t make the 4 for Fair Food Tour happen without your support.  Make sure to donate today to fund the CIW bus and share the fundraiser with your friends and family!