The members of the Student/Farmworker Alliance who walked through the Reitz Union Food Court Tuesday didn’t stop for a bite to eat.
Instead, the group of about 20 students chanted to protest the treatment of the workers who pick tomatoes in Immokalee, Fla.
Aramark, UF’s food provider, purchases tomatoes picked by the Immokalee workers.
The gathering was originally planned as a meeting between the alliance and Aramark representatives in the Retiz Union Amphitheatre, but the representatives cited an emergency and canceled, asking to reschedule for Tuesday at 2 p.m.
UF environmental science senior Krissy Abdullah, a member of the Student/ Farmworker Alliance, said she questions whether Aramark wants to meet with students.
“It makes me wonder if it’s just a tactic of avoidance,” she said.
Holding signs with slogans like “Aramark vampires – workers’ lives are not a food source,” they marched to the Gator Dining Services office in the basement of the Reitz Union and spoke to Melanie Poling, UF operations analyst for Aramark.
She apologized for the cancellation and asked to come to the rescheduled meeting.
“I think we’re after the same thing,” she said.
Moments after the group had dispersed, UPD officers arrived because they received a call about a disturbance in the Reitz Union.
Officer J.A. Savona said, according to Florida law, protesters were not supposed to be inside the building or even on the colonnade.
