{"id":571,"date":"2016-02-08T08:47:39","date_gmt":"2016-02-08T08:47:39","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2021-03-24T10:24:06","modified_gmt":"2021-03-24T14:24:06","slug":"boycott","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/food-faith\/2016\/02\/08\/boycott\/","title":{"rendered":"Boycotting berries"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>While the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is not currently boycotting Sakuma Bros. farms, we serve on the board and financially support the National Farm Worker Ministry, which is boycotting Sakuma Bros. in solidarity with Familias Unidas por la Justicia and along with several Presbyterian Hunger Program grantee partners from around the country. Last month, the president of Farm Worker Ministry Northwest, Gabriela Raquel R\u00edos, PhD, met with Danny Weeden, the CEO of Sakuma Bros. The dialogue will continue this Friday when National Farm Worker Ministry board members, including a PC(USA) representative will meet with Mr. Weeden and John Erb, vice president at Driscoll&#8217;s in Washington DC.<\/p>\n<p>Here is a video about the situation.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ggFbq6pjMkI\" width=\"500\" height=\"280\"><span style=\"width: 0px;overflow: hidden;line-height: 0\" data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span style=\"width: 0px;overflow: hidden;line-height: 0\" data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div id=\"content\">\n<div id=\"contentleft\">\n<div class=\"postarea\">\n<p><em>Following the National Farm Worker Ministry\u2019s endorsement of the Familias Unidas por la Justicia (FUJ) called boycott of Sakuma Bros., Driscoll\u2019s berries and <span class=\"st\">H\u00e4agen-Dazs<\/span> strawberry ice cream, we have been urging farm worker supporters to sign <a href=\"http:\/\/nfwm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/FUJSupportPostcardsnoart.pdf\">postcards <\/a>to the companies.\u00a0 We have thus far received postcards from 750 people of faith and conscience around the country.\u00a0 A delegation from our partner Farm Worker Ministry Northwest agreed to deliver your postcards in person to Sakuma Bros. CEO Danny Weeden.\u00a0 What follows is the report of that delivery attempt.\u00a0 While Mr. Weeden would not accept your postcards, know that the message you \u2013 a supporter of justice for farm workers \u2013 wanted to send was heard by the company.<\/em><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left\"><strong>Sakuma CEO Danny Weeden Asks for \u201cDialogue\u201d<br \/>\nBut Refuses to Accept Your Cards<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">by Gabriela Raquel R\u00edos, PhD, President, Farm Worker Ministry Northwest<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_6310\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"width: 441px\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-6310\" style=\"float: left\" src=\"http:\/\/nfwm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Gabi-reporting-after-mtg-with-Sakuma-CEO-Weeden.jpg\" alt=\"Dr. Rios reports to the crowd waiting outside of Sakuma offices, including FUJ President Ramon Torres (center) and Tirso Moreno, General Coordinator of Farmworker Association of Florida (left) about her meeting with Mr. Weeden.\" width=\"431\" height=\"324\" \/>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\" style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size: 12px;text-align: left\">Dr. Rios reports to the crowd waiting outside of Sakuma offices, including FUJ President Ramon Torres (center) and Tirso Moreno, General Coordinator of Farmworker Association of Florida (left) about her meeting with Mr. Weeden. Debi Covert-Bowlds connects the NFWM national office via her phone.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>On January 8, I and Farm Worker Ministry-Northwest (FWM-NW) members, Debi Covert-Bowlds, Carla Shafer, Kristen Barber and Mike Betz traveled to Mt. Vernon in hopes of meeting with Sakuma Bros. CEO, Danny Weeden in support of Familias Unidas por la Justicia (FUJ). Such a meeting, we later discovered, has not been granted to any FUJ member.<\/p>\n<p>We had one message and action for the meeting: As a people of faith, we are committed to standing with those who are most marginalized and who have tenuous resources and power to be heard. We wish only to impress upon Weeden and Sakuma to recognize FUJ as the representative of the farm workers and to negotiate with FUJ a legally binding contract. In addition, we wanted to leave with Weeden the 750 \u00a0postcards that you all sent, urging Sakuma to do the same. We expressed these goals in writing to Weeden ahead of time. We also told him that we would bring with us a small delegation of FWM-NW members, myself included, representing the National Farm Worker Ministry (NFWM).<\/p>\n<p><em>We wanted to make clear that we are not mediators for farm workers, nor are we folks who speak on their behalf.<\/em> We are a people who stand in solidarity with farm workers. We respect the farm workers\u2019 right to speak for themselves and while we follow their lead, we also do our homework. For this reason, we did not and do not wish to debate the particulars of the improvements of the working conditions that Weeden has claimed. Most importantly, we are firm in our commitment\u2013we are not going away! At least not until the specific call for justice for farm workers is met or our farm worker partners ask us to.<\/p>\n<p>Weeden had various frustratingly contradictory messages: \u00a0According to Weeden, Sakuma hasn\u2019t been heard. Worse\u2013 Sakuma has been demonized and misrepresented on social media. I know that Weeden reached out, in part, for the opportunity to be heard and in part to, as he put it, \u201cdialogue\u201d with the Ministry about the issues farm workers face and to discuss \u201cwhat is best for the farm workers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So, we listened. However, the first frustrating contradiction in this regard came when Weeden limited the amount of NFWM delegates who could be present for the conversation at the very last minute. As it turned out, Weeden wanted to meet with <em>only<\/em> me. Debi, Carla, Kristen and Mike had already rearranged their schedules and made plans to attend, so they came along anyway to offer support. We thought perhaps when Weeden or his people saw that four other folks had come, they might find it in their hearts to allow us all in. Instead, Debi, Carla, Kristen and Mike had to wait outside in the car while I went in alone.<\/p>\n<p>When I finally met with Weeden, he took his time showing me a picture of the Sakuma family in a field, explaining to me that Sakuma is a family business founded on family values. I knew that he was trying to establish a common ground, but as he talked I couldn\u2019t help but wonder, \u201cDoes he realize that many farm worker <em>families<\/em> work the field together? Is knowing that Sakuma is a family business supposed to make me feel better about the exploitation of child labor that is perfectly \u201clegal\u201d in <a href=\"http:\/\/nfwm.org\/education-center\/farm-worker-issues\/children-in-the-fields\/\">farm labor laws<\/a>?<\/p>\n<p>Still, I listened, hoping for and expecting reciprocity later. This was a call for \u201cdialogue\u201d after all. I listened as Weeden told me about all of the humanitarian efforts Sakuma is pursuing on behalf of farm workers. He made sure that I understood that many of these pursuits are grounded in a faith-based perspective: Sakuma has, Weeden told me, \u00a0partnered with Ralph Broetje at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.firstfruits.com\/\">First Fruits<\/a> and with an organization called Rural Concern to develop a model of corporate responsibility based on charity. Through these charity efforts, Weeden claimed that he hoped to ensure farm workers access to quality housing and food, some of which they provide on the farms.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, he said that he also brought together members of the <em>local <\/em>faith community to talk with farm workers in a \u201csafe space\u201d where they could air any grievances, though he did not give me many details about this meeting. \u00a0He did not say where exactly the meeting took place, which specific faith communities were present, or when exactly it took place. According to Weeden, farm workers have options:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFarm workers don\u2019t have to work here,\u201d he said, \u201cso we want to create a working environment that persuades them to <em>choose<\/em> us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The best way to ensure that is to put it in writing, I told him. Again, while we do not wish to dispute the particulars of work improvements on Sakuma farms, we do know two indisputable facts: 1. Improvements at Sakuma have come either because workers have <a href=\"http:\/\/www.seattletimes.com\/seattle-news\/striking-farmworkers-say-sakuma-threatened-to-evict-them\/\">walked out<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.seattletimes.com\/seattle-news\/sakuma-brothers-berry-growers-to-pay-850000-settlement\/\">filed suit<\/a>, or because the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.goskagit.com\/all_access\/judge-orders-sakuma-bros-farms-to-house-its-workers-families\/article_48b94a1a-6850-539f-b16d-0debecb41e98.html\">courts have required it<\/a> . 2. Sakuma has <a href=\"http:\/\/kuow.org\/post\/can-labor-changes-bring-peace-sakuma-brothers-berry-farm\">reneged<\/a> on several agreements in the past few <a href=\"http:\/\/boycottsakumaberries.com\/why-boycott\/how-you-can-walk-with-familias-unidas-por-la-justicia\/\">years<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>I sat in Weeden\u2019s office for one hour and listened as he defended the name and principles of Sakuma. However, I think the strongest message Weeden sent was the one he sent when he refused to accept the 750 postcards you all sent from across the U.S., urging Sakuma Bros. to negotiate a contract with FUJ.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m sorry, but I can\u2019t accept these postcards,\u201d he said, emphatically.<\/p>\n<p>I was shocked and frustrated, to say the least. The NFWM had already reached out to Weeden twice, asking for a meeting. He had not accepted those requests, yet he claimed to be upset that he hadn\u2019t been heard. He did finally acquiesce to this meeting\u2013ostensibly for \u201cdialogue.\u201d We immediately responded, happy to finally have a chance to talk with him. We told him exactly what we hoped to accomplish in the meeting, including hand-delivering your postcards.<\/p>\n<p>Weeden knew that we planned to deliver these postcards. It felt like a slap in the face.<\/p>\n<p>What kind of dialogue can come from refusal to listen? I and others have thoroughly heard you out, Mr. Weeden. Now we ask that you offer some reciprocity and respond in kind: show us that you have listened by negotiating a contract with FUJ to guarantee in writing all of the things that you have argued you are already doing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-6309\" src=\"http:\/\/nfwm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/FUJ-supporters-in-solidarity-with-FWMNW-mtg-with-Sakuma-CEO-Danny-Weeden.jpg\" alt=\"FUJ supporters in solidarity with FWMNW mtg with Sakuma CEO Danny Weeden\" width=\"578\" height=\"434\" \/>\n<p><em>[from http:\/\/nfwm.org\/2016\/02\/sakuma-bros-ceo-refuses-nfwm-supporters-postcards-2]<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is not currently boycotting Sakuma Bros. farms, we serve on the board and financially support the National Farm Worker Ministry, which is boycotting Sakuma Bros. in solidarity with Familias Unidas por la Justicia and along with several Presbyterian Hunger Program grantee partners from around the country. Last month, the president of Farm Worker Ministry Northwest, Gabriela Raquel R&iacute;os, PhD, met with Danny Weeden, the CEO of Sakuma Bros. The dialogue will continue this Friday when National Farm Worker Ministry board members, including a PC(USA) representative will meet with Mr. Weeden and John Erb, vice president at Driscoll&#8217;s in Washington DC.<\/p>\r\n<p>Gabriela gives her account of the day below and this video gives the highlights.<\/p>\r\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-B9yQV9Ce_s\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\"><\/iframe><\/p>\r\n<p><em>Following the National Farm Worker Ministry&rsquo;s endorsement of the Familias Unidas por la Justicia (FUJ) called boycott of Sakuma Bros., Driscoll&rsquo;s berries and <span class=\"st\">H&auml;agen-Dazs<\/span> strawberry ice cream, we have been urging farm worker supporters to sign <a href=\"http:\/\/nfwm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/FUJSupportPostcardsnoart.pdf\">postcards <\/a>to the companies.&nbsp; We have thus far received postcards from 750 people of faith and conscience around the country.&nbsp; A delegation from our partner Farm Worker Ministry Northwest agreed to deliver your postcards in person to Sakuma Bros. CEO Danny Weeden.&nbsp; What follows is the report of that delivery attempt.&nbsp; While Mr. Weeden would not accept your postcards, know that the message you &ndash; a supporter of justice for farm workers &ndash; wanted to send was heard by the company.<\/em><\/p>\r\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Sakuma CEO Danny Weeden Asks for &ldquo;Dialogue&rdquo; But Refuses to Accept Your Cards<\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">by Gabriela Raquel R&iacute;os, PhD, President, Farm Worker Ministry Northwest<\/p>\r\n<div id=\"attachment_6310\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"width: 441px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-6310\" style=\"margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto\" src=\"http:\/\/nfwm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Gabi-reporting-after-mtg-with-Sakuma-CEO-Weeden.jpg\" alt=\"Dr. Rios reports to the crowd waiting outside of Sakuma offices, including FUJ President Ramon Torres (center) and Tirso Moreno, General Coordinator of Farmworker Association of Florida (left) about her meeting with Mr. Weeden.\" width=\"431\" height=\"324\" \/>\r\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\" style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size: 12px;text-align: center\">Dr. Rios reports to the crowd waiting outside of Sakuma offices, including FUJ President Ramon Torres (center) and Tirso Moreno, General Coordinator of Farmworker Association of Florida (left) about her meeting with Mr. Weeden. Debi Covert-Bowlds connects the NFWM national office via her phone.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p>On January 8, I and Farm Worker Ministry-Northwest (FWM-NW) members, Debi Covert-Bowlds, Carla Shafer, Kristen Barber and Mike Betz traveled to Mt. Vernon in hopes of meeting with Sakuma Bros. CEO, Danny Weeden in support of Familias Unidas por la Justicia (FUJ). Such a meeting, we later discovered, has not been granted to any FUJ member.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3880,4155],"tags":[673,670,668,669,672,671],"class_list":["post-571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-economic-justice","category-worker-justice","tag-boycott","tag-driscolls","tag-familias-unidas-por-la-justicia","tag-fuj","tag-national-farm-worker-ministry","tag-sakuma-bros"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.5 (Yoast SEO v23.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Boycotting berries - Food and Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/food-faith\/2016\/02\/08\/boycott\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Boycotting berries\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"While the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is not currently boycotting Sakuma Bros. farms, we serve on the board and financially support the National Farm Worker Ministry, which is boycotting Sakuma Bros. in solidarity with Familias Unidas por la Justicia and along with several Presbyterian Hunger Program grantee partners from around the country. Last month, the president of Farm Worker Ministry Northwest, Gabriela Raquel R&iacute;os, PhD, met with Danny Weeden, the CEO of Sakuma Bros. The dialogue will continue this Friday when National Farm Worker Ministry board members, including a PC(USA) representative will meet with Mr. Weeden and John Erb, vice president at Driscoll&#039;s in Washington DC. Gabriela gives her account of the day below and this video gives the highlights.  Following the National Farm Worker Ministry&rsquo;s endorsement of the Familias Unidas por la Justicia (FUJ) called boycott of Sakuma Bros., Driscoll&rsquo;s berries and H&auml;agen-Dazs strawberry ice cream, we have been urging farm worker supporters to sign postcards to the companies.&nbsp; We have thus far received postcards from 750 people of faith and conscience around the country.&nbsp; A delegation from our partner Farm Worker Ministry Northwest agreed to deliver your postcards in person to Sakuma Bros. CEO Danny Weeden.&nbsp; What follows is the report of that delivery attempt.&nbsp; While Mr. Weeden would not accept your postcards, know that the message you &ndash; a supporter of justice for farm workers &ndash; wanted to send was heard by the company. Sakuma CEO Danny Weeden Asks for &ldquo;Dialogue&rdquo; But Refuses to Accept Your Cards by Gabriela Raquel R&iacute;os, PhD, President, Farm Worker Ministry Northwest  Dr. Rios reports to the crowd waiting outside of Sakuma offices, including FUJ President Ramon Torres (center) and Tirso Moreno, General Coordinator of Farmworker Association of Florida (left) about her meeting with Mr. Weeden. Debi Covert-Bowlds connects the NFWM national office via her phone.  On January 8, I and Farm Worker Ministry-Northwest (FWM-NW) members, Debi Covert-Bowlds, Carla Shafer, Kristen Barber and Mike Betz traveled to Mt. Vernon in hopes of meeting with Sakuma Bros. CEO, Danny Weeden in support of Familias Unidas por la Justicia (FUJ). Such a meeting, we later discovered, has not been granted to any FUJ member.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/food-faith\/2016\/02\/08\/boycott\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Food and Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-02-08T08:47:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-03-24T14:24:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/nfwm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Gabi-reporting-after-mtg-with-Sakuma-CEO-Weeden.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andrew Kang Bartlett\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andrew Kang Bartlett\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/food-faith\/2016\/02\/08\/boycott\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/food-faith\/2016\/02\/08\/boycott\/\",\"name\":\"Boycotting berries - Food and Faith\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/food-faith\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/food-faith\/2016\/02\/08\/boycott\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/food-faith\/2016\/02\/08\/boycott\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/nfwm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Gabi-reporting-after-mtg-with-Sakuma-CEO-Weeden.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-02-08T08:47:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-24T14:24:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/food-faith\/#\/schema\/person\/7c7725d2162c8a26f77ab85e7894f944\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/food-faith\/2016\/02\/08\/boycott\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/food-faith\/2016\/02\/08\/boycott\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/food-faith\/2016\/02\/08\/boycott\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/nfwm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Gabi-reporting-after-mtg-with-Sakuma-CEO-Weeden.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/nfwm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Gabi-reporting-after-mtg-with-Sakuma-CEO-Weeden.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/food-faith\/2016\/02\/08\/boycott\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/food-faith\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Boycotting berries\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/food-faith\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/food-faith\/\",\"name\":\"Food and Faith\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/food-faith\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/food-faith\/#\/schema\/person\/7c7725d2162c8a26f77ab85e7894f944\",\"name\":\"Andrew Kang Bartlett\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/food-faith\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/500e80d0517e36938c9dcc29cfa52930?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/500e80d0517e36938c9dcc29cfa52930?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Andrew Kang Bartlett\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/food-faith\/author\/andrewkangbartlett\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Boycotting berries - Food and Faith","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/food-faith\/2016\/02\/08\/boycott\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Boycotting berries","og_description":"While the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is not currently boycotting Sakuma Bros. farms, we serve on the board and financially support the National Farm Worker Ministry, which is boycotting Sakuma Bros. in solidarity with Familias Unidas por la Justicia and along with several Presbyterian Hunger Program grantee partners from around the country. Last month, the president of Farm Worker Ministry Northwest, Gabriela Raquel R&iacute;os, PhD, met with Danny Weeden, the CEO of Sakuma Bros. The dialogue will continue this Friday when National Farm Worker Ministry board members, including a PC(USA) representative will meet with Mr. Weeden and John Erb, vice president at Driscoll's in Washington DC. Gabriela gives her account of the day below and this video gives the highlights.  Following the National Farm Worker Ministry&rsquo;s endorsement of the Familias Unidas por la Justicia (FUJ) called boycott of Sakuma Bros., Driscoll&rsquo;s berries and H&auml;agen-Dazs strawberry ice cream, we have been urging farm worker supporters to sign postcards to the companies.&nbsp; We have thus far received postcards from 750 people of faith and conscience around the country.&nbsp; A delegation from our partner Farm Worker Ministry Northwest agreed to deliver your postcards in person to Sakuma Bros. CEO Danny Weeden.&nbsp; What follows is the report of that delivery attempt.&nbsp; While Mr. Weeden would not accept your postcards, know that the message you &ndash; a supporter of justice for farm workers &ndash; wanted to send was heard by the company. Sakuma CEO Danny Weeden Asks for &ldquo;Dialogue&rdquo; But Refuses to Accept Your Cards by Gabriela Raquel R&iacute;os, PhD, President, Farm Worker Ministry Northwest  Dr. Rios reports to the crowd waiting outside of Sakuma offices, including FUJ President Ramon Torres (center) and Tirso Moreno, General Coordinator of Farmworker Association of Florida (left) about her meeting with Mr. Weeden. Debi Covert-Bowlds connects the NFWM national office via her phone.  On January 8, I and Farm Worker Ministry-Northwest (FWM-NW) members, Debi Covert-Bowlds, Carla Shafer, Kristen Barber and Mike Betz traveled to Mt. Vernon in hopes of meeting with Sakuma Bros. CEO, Danny Weeden in support of Familias Unidas por la Justicia (FUJ). 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