DEC. 3: Give thanks for farmworkers! #GivingTuesday is around the corner…

“How can I enjoy my food if the people growing, harvesting and packing it aren’t treated with respect and paid a decent wage? I am a proud supporter of the Fair Food Program because they are worker-led, creative, and tireless.”  – Mary Pautz, longtime CIW ally and donor

Thanksgiving is almost upon us! 

Today, from farmworkers in Immokalee to conscious consumers across the country, families are preparing to take time to be together, enjoy a good meal, and give thanks for each other and the many gifts this past year has brought.  Among the gifts that we receive every day, of course, are those from farmworkers:  the women and men who grow and harvest the food that feeds our families, not only on Thanksgiving, but year round.

Between now and “Giving Tuesday” on December 3rd, supporters from across the Fair Food Nation will be showing their support for farmworkers by chipping in with a donation to the Fair Food Program – and we need your help to get the word out!  Here’s how you can help:

  • Donate now, to get us off to a good start!
  • Share our link or create a fundraising site on Facebook
  • Start spreading the news with the hashtag #GivingTuesday and the link to our fundraiser: tiny.cc/FFPGT19

To close, we wanted to share a letter from the Executive Director of the Fair Food Standards Council, Judge Laura Safer Espinoza, reflecting on the importance of giving thanks for the labor and contributions of farmworkers:

Dear friends,

“How can I enjoy my food if the people growing, harvesting and packing it aren’t treated with respect and paid a decent wage? I am a proud supporter of the Fair Food Program because they are worker-led, creative, and tireless.”  – Mary Pautz, longtime CIW ally and donor

Before the Fair Food Program, many farmworkers were left unprotected. Men and women who work in the fields across the United States faced systemic wage theft, discrimination, sexual harassment and other abuses, including violence and forced labor – modern-day slavery.

On top of exploitation and grinding poverty, farmworkers were rarely given a voice in the workplace. They were treated like machines, rather than employees, or even human beings.

Your generous support of the Fair Food Program guarantees that the more than 35,000 farmworkers working on Fair Food Program farms are treated with dignity and respect, and makes it possible to bring the Program’s desperately needed protections to tens of thousands more farmworkers in new crops and new regions.

Join people like Mary, and stand with the men and women who harvest the food on our tables every day. 

Warm regards,

Laura Safer Espinoza
Fair Food Standards Council

On behalf of everyone in Immokalee, we wish all residents of the Fair Food Nation a warm and joyful Thanksgiving!