Fair Food Program

The Fair Food Program (FFP) is a partnership between growers, farmworkers, and food company buyers to improve conditions for farmworkers.[1][2] It was launched by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), a worker-based human rights organization in Immokalee, Florida in 2011. The Fair Food Program functions through legally binding agreements between the CIW and large retail companies that pledge to buy produce only from growers who follow the Fair Food Program's Code of Conduct, paying an extra penny a pound to farmworkers.[3] By signing an agreement with the CIW, companies pledge to cease purchasing from any grower that violates the standards.[3][4] The Fair Foods Standards Council (FFSC) oversees the program and ensures that standards are upheld.[5]

The Fair Food Program is credited with helping eradicate modern-day slavery and forced labor on participating farms and has extended its protections to workers in 10 states and nine crops domestically.[1][6] Several current participating buyers in the Fair Food Program have pledged their support for expanding the enforceable protections for workers in the three countries with pilot farms, including Mexico, Chile, and South Africa.[6] Major participating buyers include McDonald's, Walmart, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and Yum Brands.[7][8] In spite of pressure and protests, some supermarket chains, including Kroger and Publix, refuse to join the Fair Food Program.[9][10]

  1. ^ a b Toussaint, Kristin (2023-03-14). "One Florida Program is Helping Eradicate Modern-day Slavery on Farms". Fast Company. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  2. ^ "About". The Fair Food Program. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  3. ^ a b Greenhouse, Steven (2014-04-24). "In Florida Tomato Fields, a Penny Buys Progress". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  4. ^ "ANALYSIS: Lofty goals… or empty promises?". 2017-01-12. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  5. ^ "About". Fair Food Standards Council. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  6. ^ a b Feroli, Christine (2023-02-14). "US Department of Labor Awards $2.5m Grant to Promote Human, Labor Rights in the International Cut Flower Supply Chains".
  7. ^ Estabrook, Barry (2014-01-17). "Labor Takes Historic Stride Forward as Walmart Joins Fair Food Program". Civil Eats. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  8. ^ Schneider, Mike (2023-03-17). "Farmworkers use Florida march to pressure other companies". AP News. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  9. ^ Wilson, Bill (March 22, 2023). "Farm workers walk to convince Kroger, Publix to join Fair Food Program". Supermarket News. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  10. ^ Alvarez, Maximillian (March 16, 2023). "Farmworkers in Florida Are Protesting Modern-Day Slavery". Jacobin. Retrieved September 14, 2023. For the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the main group behind the Fair Food Program, this makes it all the more disappointing that holdouts like fast food chain Wendy's and the supermarket chains Kroger and Publix still refuse to join.