Sample Letter to Ahold

Dear Mr. Benjamin:

I am writing to ask Ahold USA, parent company of Stop & Shop, Giant, Martin's, and Peapod, to work with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) to ensure fair wages and conditions for the farmworkers who pick your tomatoes.

Florida tomato pickers are among this country's most exploited workers: they earn sub-poverty wages, lack most standard rights and benefits and have not received a significant raise in 30 years. At the current rate, one must harvest over 2.5 TONS of tomatoes to earn minimum wage for a 10-hour workday. In extreme cases, workers are held in modern-day slavery rings. In December 2008, four people were sentenced in federal court in a case that involved beating, chaining, and enslaving tomato pickers who worked on some of Florida's major tomato farms.

Yum Brands, McDonald's, Burger King, Whole Foods, Subway, and Bon Appetit have all reached precedent-setting agreements with the CIW to improve wages and enforce a code of conduct for fair conditions in their tomato supply chains, including zero tolerance for modern-day slavery.

As a conscientious consumer and supporter of the CIW's Campaign for Fair Food, I urge Ahold USA to work together with the CIW to ensure human rights and fair wages for those who harvest the tomatoes sold in your stores.

Sincerely,

(Feel free to add information about which Ahold-owned supermarket you shop at (ie., Stop & Shop, Giant, Martins, and Peapod) and why it is particularly important for you as a consumer that Ahold do this.)

Mr. Lawrence Benjamin
Ahold/Stop & Shop Supermarket Company
P.O. Box 55888
Boston, MA 02205

or

Ms. Harriet Hentges
Vice President for Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability
Ahold, USA
8301 Professional Place, Suite 115
Landover, MD 20785