CIW and Bon Appétit Forge Agreement!

April 2009 – The CIW and sustainable foodservice leader Bon Appétit Management Company have forged a new model for fair labor standards in Florida's tomato fields! The new model for advancing farmworkers’ rights includes a new “minimum fair wage” provision, new practices to protect against wage fraud, worker empowerment, worker safety and third-party monitoring which that also involves farmworkers. Read all the details as well as the Washington Post article on the agreement.

Lucas Benitez of the CIW describes farm labor conditions to Fedele Bauccio of Bon Appétit during a tour of the fields in the area of Immokalee, Florida. Photo courtesy of CIW.

Bon Appétit, which operates on 400 university and corporate campuses, is a large purchaser of tomatoes, about 5 million pounds a year, but not as large as Subway or McDonald’s. Therefore the company’s needs can be met by sourcing tomatoes from smaller Florida growers, who, unlike their larger counterparts in the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, may be incented to meet these standards for the opportunity to do business with Bon Appétit. Gerardo Reyes Chavez of the CIW says, “We see this as a golden opportunity for Florida's smaller, family-scale farmers to gain access to a market that has traditionally been beyond their reach and to help elevate Florida's agricultural industry in the process.” 

Bon Appétit is the first food service corporation to step forward and forge an agreement with the CIW since the Student Farmworker Alliance launched its “Dine with Dignity” campaign this spring. Students on campuses across the country take part in the campaign by insisting that their food service providers work with the CIW to advance farmworkers’ human rights. Read more about the Dine with Dignity Campaign which is currently focused on Aramark, Sodexo and Compass.