This Mother’s Day, Support Farmworker Mothers

From the Presbyterian Hunger Program Campaign for Fair Food and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers



Photo courtesy of Scott Robertson (used with permission)

 On Mother’s Day we remember the commandment to “honor thy father and mother” and give thanks for the many ways mothers promote well-being within families.  But farmworker mothers, who labor in the Florida fields providing food for families across America, struggle to feed their own families.  You can help change this.

This Mother’s Day weekend, mothers have come together — from both ends of the supply chain. Farmworker mothers and consumer mothers, bound by their universal desire to provide for their families, are uniting their voices to invite Publix Supermarket to become a part of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ Fair Food Program.  You can support their call by signing the  “Publix: Support farmworker mothers” Petition on change.org .

“On Mother's Day, we ask that you, Publix executives, recognize our affliction and the necessity of just wages for us as farmworkers, who as mothers are responsible for feeding our children," said Immokalee mother Carmen Esquivel.

Rev. Tricia Dillon Thomas, a Publix customer and Presbyterian minister explains, "As a mother it is important to me that the food I put on the table is planted and harvested while maintaining farmworker dignity.  I cannot very well ask the Lord to bless the food and forget the farmworker."

This Mother’s Day, pray that mothers everywhere would be treated with dignity.  And sign the petition to help make that possibility real for mothers picking in the Florida tomato fields. 

Learn more about the PC(USA)’s support for the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and the Campaign for Fair Food at www.pcusa.org/fairfood .