The Current

We’re reaching the two-year mark of Recipe for Change, IJM’s big campaign to help end slavery in the American tomato industry.  Since 2012, we’ve been supporting the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) as they raise awareness of the abuse farmworkers have faced in Florida.

Together, we’ve been trying to rally American food suppliers to join the Fair Food Program (FFP), which would protect farmworkers’ rights and guarantee store-bought tomatoes are slavery-free.

Here’s a look back at some highlights from Recipe for Change from the road so far:

•           We shared real stories from farmworkers freed from slavery like Mariano and Antonio. 

•           We looked at how the FFP would protect farmworkers’ safety and guarantee them a fair wage.

•           We rallied others to ask major supermarkets—like Publix and Kroger—to join in the FFP.

•           We celebrated how major food brands—like McDonald’s, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and Taco Bell—all signed up to stop slavery.

•           We traded awesome tomato recipes with justice advocates, human rights leaders, farmworkers, artists and others.

You helped make all of these things happen. Thanks to your hard work, Recipe for Change was a huge success that first summer, and has continued to build since then. More than 150 food blogs promoted the campaign. Magazines and newspapers covered your efforts. And, most astoundingly of all, you helped gather more than 11,000 letters  to ask your grocery stores to join the Fair Food Program and help end slavery. Yea!

And the momentum is still going. Last month, Wal-Mart became the latest company to join the Fair Food Program. They’re the world’s largest retailer, and they’re actually going further than anyone else to get involved with the FFP, by extending the same standards for tomatoes to lots of other produce grown around the country—standing up for farmworkers on a massive scale.

We are so encouraged by all you’ve done to help make Recipe for Change a success, and we have one big push left to go.

Our last major milestone would be to get support from Ahold USA—the parent company of Giant, Stop ‘n Shop and other stores. We weren’t been able to get a meeting with them until now, but I’m so thrilled to be meeting with Ahold’s Produce Division leadership next month, March 5, at their Pennsylvania headquarters. I’ll be delivering thousands of letters you helped gather, and I’ll keep you posted on the result. Let’s hope for another huge win!

Going forward, I encourage you to keep supporting the Campaign for Fair Food and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. With Wal-Mart, Chipotle and Trader Joe’s all joining with us in the last two years, the momentum is definitely on the side of justice—thanks to you!

P.S. Earlier this month the Berlin Film Festival premiered a new documentary called Food Chains, about modern-day slavery in American agriculture. Watch the preview now, and make plans to share it with your community when it comes out.