Fair Food Program breaks new ground: Introducing the very first FFP-certified soup!

“We are honored to sell the first packaged products in America that contain only Fair Food tomatoes, ensuring that the farm workers who picked those tomatoes were protected against the inhumane treatment that is so common in agriculture.” – Sara Polon, CEO of Soupergirl (pictured above)

“We are so proud to sell Soupergirl’s gazpachos at Whole Foods Market and hope more brands and retailers are encouraged to get behind the Fair Food Program mission…” – Erik Brown, Executive Leader of Produce at Whole Foods Market

Today the Fair Food Program is celebrating another major milestone: the launch of the first packaged food sporting the Fair Food Program label!

One year ago this week we had our first conversation with Sara Polon, founder and CEO of Soupergirl, the Washington, DC-based soup and gazpacho company and Whole Foods supplier, about partnering with the Fair Food Program. When we met Sara and heard her describe the vision behind her company, we knew instantly that this could be a groundbreaking collaboration. Over the next year we worked to close the deal, moving one piece of the puzzle into place after another — from finalizing a new set of standards specific to consumer packaged goods (CPG) like soup, to developing a new label. Soupergirl is committing to only buy tomatoes for its gazpacho from FFP Participating Growers, where workers serve as frontline monitors of their own rights and are treated with respect. 

Sara’s enthusiasm for the Fair Food Program and a more just food system is infectious!  Check out this excerpt from the Soupergirl blog post on our new partnership:

… I am proud that our company, Soupergirl, is the first consumer packaged goods firm to obtain a Fair Food certification, just for our tomato gazpacho line. Our certification is limited, for now, and must represent the beginning of something bigger. We hope that more companies like us join this incredible program.

What can you do as a consumer? First, learn about the incredible work that the Fair Food Program is doing, every single day. The FFP has been praised for its unique effectiveness in preventing forced labor, sexual assault, and other horrible violations–by the same law enforcement agencies that prosecute these very offenses. It even received a Presidential Medal from the Obama-Biden administration.

Then, speak with your dollars. Look to see if your favorite retailer supports the Fair Food Program. If not, fire up your email and ask them to join. But don’t stop there. Call your favorite salsa company. Demand answers from your juice company. Does your favorite brand claim to have a responsible supply chain? Ask them why they aren’t working with the Fair Food Program. Email them. Write letters. Call. And don’t let up until they commit to doing the right thing for our farm workers… (read more)

Starting today, Soupergirl’s Tomato Gazpacho and Spicy Tomato Gazpacho become the first CPGs sold as part of the Fair Food Program. FFP-certified gazpachos will be sold at select Whole Foods Market stores.

The video at the top of today’s post celebrates that partnership as part of the launch. We look forward to continuing to work with Soupergirl to expand its FFP-certified offerings in the years to come!

We’ve also created resources for other CPG brands interested in exploring the process of Fair Food Program certification for their own products. You can check out those new resources — including a flyer and a CPG-specific fact sheet — here on the Fair Food Program site.

Here’s today’s official announcement: 

Soupergirl’s “Fair Food” Gazpachos Launch Today in Select Whole Foods Market Stores

ROCKVILLE, MD, June 15, 2022 – Starting today, Soupergirl’s “Fair Food certified” gazpachos are available in select Whole Foods Market stores. Today at the Whole Foods Market in Rockville, customers are invited to sample and celebrate the launch of Soupergirl’s Tomato Gazpacho and Spicy Tomato Gazpacho–the first packaged food products sold as part of the Fair Food Program, a national effort to end rampant migrant-labor abuse.

“We are so proud to sell Soupergirl’s gazpachos at Whole Foods Market and hope more brands and retailers are encouraged to get behind the Fair Food Program mission,” said Erik Brown, Executive Leader of Produce at Whole Foods Market. “We can’t wait for our customers to enjoy these delicious products and learn more about the work that goes into the Fair Food label.”

Free samples of Soupergirl’s Tomato Gazpacho and Spicy Tomato Gazpacho will be available to customers today at the Whole Foods Market at 11355 Woodglen Drive in Rockville, from 1-3 pm ET, while supplies last.  Sara Polon, CEO of Soupergirl will speak at the launch, along with representatives of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), the worker-based non-profit organization that fights labor abuse on farms.

Too many farm laborers in America who pick our fruits and vegetables are routinely abused, with the Justice Department charging two dozen defendants in November for engaging in what it calls “modern-day slavery.” Soupergirl, the Washington, DC-based soup and gazpacho company, is fighting back–and trying to initiate much-needed change in the food industry.

The Fair Food label you will find on Soupergirl’s gazpachos certifies that the tomatoes used to make them are grown on farms that maintain the highest level of protection for the human rights of the men and women who harvested them. The national program is run by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), the worker-based non-profit organization that fights labor abuse on farms.

“We are honored to sell the first packaged products in America that contain only Fair Food tomatoes, ensuring that the farm workers who picked those tomatoes were protected against the inhumane treatment that is so common in agriculture,” said Polon, CEO of Soupergirl. “But we are a small company and hope that we are only the first of many, many firms that commit to source Fair Food and thus advance fair practices and safety for migrant workers on a larger scale.”