2024 was a particularly productive year for the national Campaign for Fair Food — kicking off this past spring with the three-day Farmworker Freedom Festival held in Palm Beach, FL and closing out this holiday season with our end-of-year fundraising campaign, backed for the first time ever by a generous matching challenge, whereby all gifts will be matched up to $2 million by the NoVo Foundation! Indeed, this past year provided many exciting opportunities for our faith and student allies to gather together, reflect, and build bonds of solidarity with farmworkers in their fight for fundamental human rights in the fields.
On the faith organizing front, the CIW’s Faith Working Group returned to Immokalee for the first time in several years for their annual convening last month, where they were inspired by the history and ongoing work of the CIW and the unparalleled results of the Fair Food Program. This theologically diverse team from across the United States is excited to prioritize the work and actions of the Campaign for Fair Food in both their local congregations and their national denominations in the months and years to come. Seizing on the momentum from this year’s exciting gathering, the Faith Working Group plans to host a large group of faith leaders in Immokalee for a national Farmworker Faith Summit next year.
Following the gathering, participants in the Faith Working Group shared their thoughts on the year ahead. Here are just a couple of those reflections from last month’s convening:
“During my visit to Immokalee, I was particularly touched by the women who demonstrated strength and determination to make it safe to work in the fields while providing us nourishing food. We need to stand with them to improve working conditions and to secure a living wage.” – Diane Buckley from the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fort Myers
“The work of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and the Fair Food Program inspires me. In a world that has taken advantage of so many, this work seeks to reaffirm the innate dignity of each farmworker … The individuals responsible for bringing food to our tables deserve fair working conditions and wages.” – Marcos Martins, a seminary student in the Methodist tradition
And just as our faith allies rekindled their connection with the CIW in 2024 with a visit to the birthplace of the Campaign for Fair Food, the Student/Farmworker Alliance (SFA) held their first in-person Encuentro in Immokalee in five years as well! A decades-long grassroots organizing tradition, the SFA Encuentro serves an important role in the network by bringing students and young people from across the country together for a weekend of skill-building, strategizing, creativity, and reflection, all rooted in the fight for Fair Food in solidarity with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.
Early in September, students from New York, California, Illinois, Ohio, and south and central Florida came together in the CIW’s Casa de Esperanza in Immokalee. They learned about organizing, brand-busting, grassroots fundraising, screen printing, and the history of the Campaign for Fair Food in workshops. Through panels, presentations, and a popular education theater performance, they were also able to meet face to face with CIW staff and SFA veterans.
One student from Vermont Law and Graduate School said she felt inspired by the instrumental role of students on campus across the country in winning the support of powerful corporations like Burger King and Taco Bell for the Fair Food Program.
“I first learned of the Student Farmworker Alliance while attending college in Philadelphia. For many people who live in cities, our most direct engagement with agriculture is browsing the produce aisle in the supermarket. The SFA bridges the gap between young consumers and farmworkers, encouraging us to become educated about the realities of our nation’s exploitative food system. It empowers students from all backgrounds to join in the fight against one of the country’s most pervasive forms of human rights violations: modern-day slavery.
This year, I finally got the chance to fly to Immokalee for the annual Encuentro. This experience was profoundly impactful, as it allowed me to connect with members of the Coalition and other student allies from around the country.” – Danielle Brodsky
Once again, this powerful reunion helped the students and youth in our movement ground themselves in the history of the Campaign for Fair Food and plan for their crucial role in the fight for farmworker justice in the year ahead.
These invaluable gatherings are essential to sustaining — and growing — our Campaign, and with your donation this holiday season, we can continue expanding our network of students, youth, people of faith, community members, and other allies who form the backbone of the Fair Food Nation.