Farmworkers use Florida march to pressure other companies

By MIKE SCHNEIDER
Associated Press

Farmworkers are leading a five-day, 45-mile trek on foot this week from one of the poorest communities in Florida to a mansion-lined, oceanfront town that is one of the richest. The farmworkers say they are marching to highlight the Fair Food Program, which has enlisted companies like McDonald’s and Whole Foods to leverage their purchasing power with growers for better working conditions and wages for farmworkers. The farmworkers hope to use the march to pressure other companies, like Publix, Wendy’s and Kroger, to join the program, which started in 2011. Wendy’s says in a statement it’s not in the program because it uses a different supply chain.