Luxury island off Sarasota coast sees first Publix protest…


Exclusive Longboat Key
plays host to sizeable action for Fair Food at latest Publix store opening!

Longboat Key is a beautiful, exclusive island community on Florida’s gulf coast that’s home to miles of crystalline, white sand beaches, some of the area’s priciest real estate, and celebrities from Wimbeldon champion Maria Sharapova to Aerosmith’s lead guitarist Joe Perry. With a median family income of $107,983, it is not a place accustomed to protest or workers’ struggles for social justice.

But this past Sunday, Longboat Key hosted its first-ever Fair Food protest, as farmworkers from Immokalee and student and faith allies from the Sarasota area gathered for the opening weekend of the island’s only grocery store, a brand new, expanded Publix store, tailored to the Longboat Key community (with an extensive wine and cheese section, free wifi, and an outside patio seating area).

Rabbi Jonathan Katz from neighboring Temple Beth Israel, Rabbi Peter Kasdan, a longtime farmworker movement supporter, and the Rev. Clay Thomas (who was famously exiled from the Publix store in his own Sarasota neighborhood for his support for the Campaign for Fair Food) joined many other local clergy, congregants, and students from USF-Tampa, Manatee High School, and New College for a spirited rally that filled a city block outside the store and was remarkably well-received by the locals, as drivers signaled their support with a steady stream of honks and inquisitive cyclists and joggers eagerly took flyers to learn more about the Fair Food Program:

Farmworkers were also joined by other stalwart allies including DJ’s from WSLR community radio in Sarasota (a local sister station to the CIW’s Radio Conciencia) and members of Pax Christi, Unidos Now, and the Southwest Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice.

All in all, it was an upbeat action that served as an excellent introduction to the Fair Food movement for thousands of Longboat Key residents. And once it was all over, the former mayor of Sarasota even headed into Publix and bought himself a sandwich while proudly wearing his CIW t-shirt — without incident! (That’s the same offense that got Rev. Thomas banned from his local Publix earlier this year, leading to a march of 200 workers and clergy in protest.) Maybe Publix is starting to listen to its customers after all…