“Stories from the Fields” Bon Appétit event – Feb. 22

Join Bon Appétit Management Company Fellow Vera Chang for a special campus event focusing on sustainable agriculture practices and ethical labor conditions on farms that supply university cafés.

Chang will preview of the results of a soon-to-be-released report (by Bon Appétit and the United Farm Workers, with input from Oxfam America) on farm workers’ issues and protections. Local Farm to Fork partners David Hoyle (Creative Growers Organic Farm), Dave Eskeldson (Egor’s Acres), and DuVonn Amlie (Thistledown Organic Farm) will also discuss their agricultural and labor practices.

Local, seasonal small bites will be served.

When: February 22, 7 p.m.
Where: Maggie’s Café
Contact: For more information, contact Vera Chang, Vera.Chang@cafebonappetit.com

Background information from Bon Appétit:

Since 2009, the Bon Appétit Management Company Foundation has employed three Fellows to visit the local, family-scale farms that supply the company’s operations through its Farm to Fork program and to give informational talks at the college campuses where it has cafés, as well as work with student groups to put on sustainable food events.

The Bon Appétit Management Company began buying direct from farmers through its Farm to Fork local sourcing program 12 years ago and has led the way in supporting a more environmentally sustainable supply chain through its purchasing practices. What began originally as a way to address the loss of flavor in food as a result of industrial agricultural practices and long shipping distances has broadened in scope. Following a spring 2009 visit to Florida’s tomato fields and talks with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Bon Appétit pledged to address labor issues throughout its entire supply chain.

The fellows’ work is the next step on the path of working toward justice and fairness for farm workers taken by the major national food service company. Working together with concerned college students and campus communities, the Bon Appétit Management Company Foundation’s goal is to create significant, permanent, and positive change in our national food system.