Chelo Alvarez-Stehle's Page

Melanie Wallace thought new Workshop grad Rick Perez might be interested in this notice (he's working on a farm workers piece), and I thought you might want to see it, too. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 21, 2011

CONTACTS:
Meghan Cohorst, App User, 239-503-1533, meghan@sfalliance.org
Marc Rodrigues, Student Farmworker Alliance, (239) 292-3431, marc@sfalliance.org
Amanda Kloer, Director of Organizing, Change.org, (404) 451-6580, amanda@change.org

***MEDIA ADVISORY***
BOSTON CUSTOMERS TO THROW VIRTUAL TOMATOES AT TRADER JOE’S
Customers to protest abuse of farmworkers by using first-ever anti-trafficking iPhone app to hurl virtual tomatoes at Trader Joe’s store in Boston

BOSTON, MA - Trader Joe’s customers in Boston will protest the chain’s alleged refusal to support basic human rights of farmworkers by using the world’s first-ever anti-human trafficking iPhone app to hurl virtual tomatoes at the store’s image on Sunday.

When: Sunday, October 23, 4:00pm ET
Where: Trader Joe’s, 317 Beacon Street, Brookline, MA
What: Meghan Cohorst and other protesters will hurl virtual tomatoes at images of Trader Joe’s and share them on Facebook and Twitter from outside the store as part of an in-person protest.

The app, Angry Tomato, is part of an ongoing campaign on Change.org asking Trader Joe’s, Publix, Kroger, Giant, Stop & Shop, and other supermarket chains to participate in the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ Fair Food Program, which would protect farmworkers from abuses such as modern-day slavery and raise wages one penny per pound of tomatoes picked. More than 36,000 people have already joined the online petition campaign.

“Angry Tomato users are making activist art by splattering virtual tomatoes and a request for change across the storefronts of grocery chains that are failing to stand up for farmworkers,” said Marc Rodrigues of the Student Farmworker Alliance. “Then, they can share their posters with friends on Facebook and Twitter, sending a powerful message to supermarkets that the time to end farmworker exploitation is now.”

Angry Tomato was designed by the Student Farmworker Alliance and built by mobile app developer Leaping Bytes.

Live signature totals from Student Farmworker Alliance’s campaign:
http://www.change.org/petitions/ask-trader-joes-to-sell-abuse-free-food

Journalists interested in contacting Trader Joe’s public relations staff should try:

Allison Mochizuki
Media Relations, Trader Joe’s
amochizuki@traderjoes.com

High Resolution Photos and Videos of App:
http://www.leapingbytes.com/userfiles/downloads/Angry_Tomato-Media_Kit.zip

For more information on Change.org, please visit:
http://www.change.org/about
Change.org  is the world’s fastest-growing platform for social change — growing by  more than 400,000 new members a month, and empowering millions of people to start, join, and win campaigns for social change in their community, city and country.

###


--
Amanda Kloer
Director of Organizing, Human Trafficking, Change.org
www.change.org
@changeslavery
@endhumantraffic