Thank you to the Alligator and to Tenley Ross for doing such a fine job on the story about Food Chains coming to the Hippodrome State Theatre today. I appreciate that Tenley interviewed so many people involved in producing and bringing this incredible documentary to Gainesville for its first ever showing.
Because the Interfaith Alliance for Immigrant Justice was hoping to bring the film to Gainesville during Coalition of Immokalee Workers week and because of the continual support that the IAIJ and the whole Gainesville community has shown in support of the farm workers who work with the CIW, the CIW asked the director of Food Chains, Sanjay Rawal, to contact me and the Hippodrome to make sure we could show the film here in Gainesville before it was mass distributed.
IAIJ has been part of many actions in Alachua County — along with many student and community groups — to bring attention to the CIW Fair Food Campaign, including four actions in the last month at Publix. Though many corporations have joined the Fair Food Campaign including Aramark, Burger King, Trader Joe’s and Wal-Mart, Publix refuses to even meet with the CIW farm workers. Three Chispas students from UF even joined 100 other supporters for a week of fasting during their Spring Break two years ago in front of the headquarters of Publix.
Come see this incredible film about what people of good conscience can do to support workers who will just not give up in their struggle for justice and dignity in the workplace.
Sheila Payne
Member of Interfaith Alliance for Immigrant Justice
[A version of this story ran on page 7 on 11/18/2014"]
