Bon Appétit Management Company

What is the meaning of fifty cents? In today’s world, two quarters might get you a stick of gum, a postage stamp, or one small piece of fruit. Weighed against the national minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, fifty cents are equivalent to a little over four minutes of work. For a farmworker, however, fifty cents mean something entirely different.  

While many food labels you might find in the grocery store provide insight on a farm’s environmental approach or treatment of animals (think: USDA Certified Organic or Certified Humane), few give meaningful insight on the ways farmworkers are compensated or treated. This is where programs like the Fair Food Program (FFP) and the Equitable Food Initiative (EFI) come in.

After almost two decades of boycotting, marching, educating, researching, and signing onto commitments, Bon Appétit Management Company is proud to reflect on progress made while continuing the fight for farmworkers’ rights.

Learn about real changes being taken to fix the systems that govern farm work.

Explore the main concerns of farmworkers in the face of the climate crisis.

We’re busting myths about farmworkers to clarify the state of farm work in the United States.

On my table sat a hefty 5-gallon bucket overflowing with green apples. Weighing in at 32 pounds, the fruit represented the average harvest bucket of green tomatoes for which farmworkers in Florida — where most of the tomatoes east of the Mississippi come from in the winter months — are paid a shocking 45 cents per bucket. 

National Farmworker Awareness Week (NFAW) is a week of action that honors farmworkers for the critical role they play in our society while raising awareness about issues affecting them and their families. For almost a decade, Bon Appétit Management Company has been celebrating NFAW in partnership with Student Action with Farmworkers on our campuses.

During this year’s National Farmworker Awareness Week we mark 10 years since the publication of the Inventory of Farmworker Issues and Protections, and highlight the challenges farmworkers continue to face.

The relationship between the Bon Appétit team at Carleton College and the Minnesota Hmong American Farmers Association has proven immensely beneficial to both students and the local food movement