Fast for Fair Food at Publix Headquarters

“Is this not the fast that I choose?  To loose the bonds of injus­tice…” cries God through the prophet Isa­iah!  The Coali­tion of Immokalee Work­ers has announced that on Mon­day, March 5^th, fifty farm­work­ers and their allies from the faith, stu­dent and sus­tain­able food com­mu­ni­ties, will under­take a Fast for Fair Food at Pub­lix Gro­cery head­quar­ters in Lake­land, FL.  The 6-day fast will con­clude on Sat­ur­day, March 10^th, as fair food allies rally at a nearby Pub­lix loca­tion and then process 3.5 miles to Pub­lix head­quar­ters where they will join fasters in a cel­e­bra­tion to break the fast.

From a spir­i­tual per­spec­tive, the fast will draw atten­tion to the bro­ken­ness in our human com­mu­nity and our food sys­tem that leads exploita­tion of our farmworker-neighbors.  As peo­ple of faith we will heed God’s call to renew covenant rela­tion­ships of jus­tice with our neigh­bors and urge Pub­lix to rec­og­nize its con­nec­tion and respon­si­bil­ity not only to its cus­tomers, but also to the farm­work­ers who har­vest the toma­toes it sells.

It is sig­nif­i­cant that the 6-day fast includes allies and not just farm­work­ers who har­vest Publix’s toma­toes.  As con­sumers we are con­nected to farm­work­ers when­ever we pur­chase pro­duce at Pub­lix.  Cur­rently our pur­chas­ing fuels farm­worker exploita­tion as Pub­lix squeezes grow­ers for the low­est pos­si­ble cost, and that cost is born by farm­work­ers in their poverty wages and work­ing con­di­tions.  Fast­ing with the work­ers demon­strates our aware­ness of this con­nec­tion and our com­mit­ment to work­ing together with the CIW to be, as Isa­iah puts it, “repair­ers of the breach” (Is.58:12)

While some faith allies will be fast­ing for 6 days, oth­ers may choose to fast for shorter peri­ods of time or choose to fast from pur­chas­ing at Pub­lix gro­cery dur­ing this time.  If you are able, join the fasters dur­ing the week of March 5 – 10; visit them, pray with them, join the rally and pro­ces­sion and fast-breaking cer­e­mony on March 10^th.

For sev­eral years the Coali­tion of Immokalee Work­ers and Pres­by­te­ri­ans across Florida and the nation have called on Pub­lix to join the CIW’s Fair Food Pro­gram which is sup­ported by 9 cor­po­ra­tions and over 90 per­cent of Florida grow­ers.  But despite a work­ing, proven model that is improv­ing farm­worker wages and advanc­ing human rights in the fields, Pub­lix has not responded pos­i­tively.  You can read more about the CIW’s responses to Pub­lix state­ments and actions in 2011 and 2012.

Change does not just “hap­pen.”  As the CIW’s motto goes, “con­scious­ness + com­mit­ment = change.”  We have seen the dawn­ing of that change through the Fair Food Pro­gram and the improve­ment of farm­work­ers’ wages and rights.  Pres­by­te­ri­ans are pray­ing for Pub­lix, com­mu­ni­cat­ing with Pub­lix through post­cards and manager’s let­ters, and now, are invited to fast with the farm­work­ers.  Together may we “break every yoke” (Is. 58:6).