Soon after joining the Equitable Food Initiative (EFI), retailer Whole Foods has expanded an existing program with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) to source strawberries. 

The supermarket chain will be the first to offer strawberries certified by the Fair Food Program, which the CIW's Gerardo Reyes previously told www.freshfruitportal.com was formed to address discrepancies between the law and its application for workers in the Florida tomato industry.

Whole Foods Market began supporting the Fair Food Program in 2008, four years before any other supermarket joined the effort.

By offering Fair Food strawberries, Whole Foods Market has agreed to pay an additional amount for each case of strawberries it purchases, with the additional money being passed on to farmworkers to supplement their income.

The program also requires suppliers to sign a code of conduct, outlining specific social responsibility criteria; the code is then verified by a third-party.

"We advocate for and support sustainable, transparent, long-term labor and farmworker welfare solutions, both inside and outside the U.S.," says Whole Foods senior global produce coordinator Matt Rogers.

"The Fair Food Program is the leading worker welfare success story in the U.S. We are proud of our history with the Coalition of Immokolee Workers and are excited to support their certification as they expand beyond tomatoes."

The first certified strawberries will come from Florida-based grower Sunripe Certified Brands, a key supplier to Whole Foods Market and a leading advocate of the Fair Food Program.

“As the first tomato grower to implement the Fair Food Program at all of our tomato operations, Sunripe Certified Brands is proud to be the first grower to extend the guarantee of a safe and fair workplace to the strawberry fields of Florida," said Sunripe CEO Jon Esformes.

"We're honored and humbled to play a part in creating change for the most vulnerable of American workers, and strongly urge other growers to join this important movement."

Whole Foods and Sunripe also announced they would be the first to use the new Fair Food Program label on both strawberry and tomato packages. The label was developed by the Fair Food Program to help shoppers identify produce that complies with the industry worker welfare program.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Whole Foods Market on the expansion of the Fair Food Program, and are particularly excited to debut the program label on certified products in its stores,” said Nely Rodriguez, education team member for the CIW.

“The label symbolizes Florida farmworkers’ tireless efforts to forge a more modern, more humane agricultural industry. We’re proud to share the image and our story with Whole Foods Market shoppers.”

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www.freshfruitportal.com