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Our Mission

Our Mission
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Big Food corporations are hiding an ugly truth: their business model drives farmers and fishers off the land and water, perpetuates racial injustice, drives down wages, and drives up chronic disease and carbon emissions. They are a threat to our future, with communities of color hit first and worst. 
 
We’re calling on the biggest players in the multi-billion dollar cafeteria industry to be part of the solution, not the problem.
 
It’s time for Aramark, Sodexo, and Compass Group to drop exclusive deals with Big Food manufacturers; to open their doors to farmers of color, fair and humane food sources, and community-based agriculture and seafood; and to play their part in reducing greenhouse gases.
 
United, we can build a food system grounded in racial justice, fairness, and dignity for us and future generations. 

Our Goal

Our Goals

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We’re calling on Aramark, Compass Group, and Sodexo to fundamentally reorient their business models away from a system of exclusive relationships with big food companies and toward real meals that support producers, communities, consumers and the planet.

 

As a first step, we are asking each company to commit to the following in the higher education sector:

 

ACHIEVE 25% REAL FOOD FOR EVERY CAMPUS

 

  • Purchase 25% of food from sources that are local & community based, fair, ecologically sound, and/or humane, as defined by the Real Food Standards, in every higher education account.

  • Shift toward seafood from local & community based fishers

 

INVEST IN RACIAL JUSTICE AND EQUITY

 

  • Expand purchasing from disenfranchised farmers, fishers and ranchers -- particularly Black producers. Designate a company liaison to develop these relationships

  • Invest at least $1 million in infrastructure to improve market access for disenfranchised producers

  • Prioritize stakeholder input (e.g. campus religious and cultural groups) in menu planning to meet the needs of marginalized groups

 

REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS AND INDUSTRIAL ANIMAL PRODUCTS

 

  • Reduce purchases of factory-farmed meat, poultry and cheese by 25%. Invest in Real Food alternatives.

  • Reduce carbon emissions across the companies’ supply chains by 25%.

 

INCREASE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY

 

  • Commit to clear and swift timelines for implementing each of these targets

  • Track and report on progress. The Community Coalition for Real Meals will publish report cards on the progress of each company.

Our Coalition

Our Coalition

We are the Community Coalition for Real Meals - an intergenerational, multiracial group of farmers, fishers, ranchers, activists, students, and workers calling for a transformation of the way that cafeteria food is sourced.  

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The Domestic Fair Trade Association is the primary thought leader on domestic fair trade and a crucial advocate for workers’ rights, fair prices for farmers, and environmental sustainability in the American and Canadian agricultural system. The mission of the DFTA is to promote, educate, and advocate for an agricultural production system that meets the sixteen domestic fair trade principles identified by diverse stakeholders throughout the agricultural supply chain. The DFTA facilitates connections between agricultural sectors in order to build resilient communities and improve food production so that the agricultural system is healthy, just, and sustainable

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The Public Justice Food Project is the only legal project in the country that is focused solely on dismantling the structures that enable the consolidation of corporate power and extractive practices in our food system and supporting a vision of animal agriculture that is regenerative, humane, and owned by independent farmers.

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Fair World Project (FWP) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to protect the use of the term “fair trade” in the marketplace, expand markets for authentic fair trade, and educate consumers about key issues in trade and agriculture. We advocate for policies leading to a just economy and facilitate collaborative relationships to create true system change.

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Friends of the Earth fights to create a healthier and just world. Over 1.5 million members strong, we are working to promote clean energy and solutions to climate change, ensure the food we eat and products we use are safe and sustainable, and protect marine ecosystems and the people who live and work near them.

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The HEAL (Health, Environment, Agriculture, Labor) Food Alliance is a multi-racial, multigenerational coalition made up of 50 organizations representing rural and urban farmers, ranchers, fisherfolk, food chain workers, scientists, public health advocates, policy experts, community organizers and activists. We are working together to create food and farm systems that are healthy for our families, accessible and affordable for all communities, and fair to the hard-working people who grow, distribute, prepare, and serve our food — while protecting the air, water, and land we all depend on.

NAMA

The Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance is a fishermen-led organization building a broad movement toward healthy fisheries and fishing communities. NAMA works across North America to build deep and trusting relationships with community-based fishermen, crew, fishworkers, and allies to create effective policy and market strategies. Learn more at www.namanet.org.

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Operation Spring Plant is a grassroots nonprofit organization made up of African-American and limited resource farmers and concerned urban citizens in North Carolina and surrounding states.

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The Real Food Challenge harnesses the power of youth and universities to build a just and sustainable food system. Our 8,000 student leaders and allies campaign for and monitor institutional commitments to food procurement that is local and community based, fair, ecologically sound and/or humane.

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Uprooted & Rising aims to create a culture shift through public action, digital organizing, and creative storytelling that uplifts and centers the ideas and experiences of those who have been marginalized by corporate control and white supremacy in our food system.

Our Endorsers

Show your support and add your name to the list of our endorsers. 

African Alliance of Rhode Island

Alabama Contract Poultry Growers Association

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)

Anna Marie Seafood

Appetite For Change

Association of Irritated Residents

Better Future Project

Blacks Run Forest Farm

Brighter Green

CommonWealth Kitchen

Community Alliance for Global Justice

Community Farm Alliance

Cooperative Development Institute

Cooperative Food Empowerment Directive (CoFED)

DC Greens

Dakota Rural Action

Eating with the Ecosystem

Equal Exchange

Factory Farming Awareness Coalition

Fair Farms

Farm Aid

Farmworker Association of Florida

Food & Water Watch

Food Chain Workers Alliance

Food Solutions New England

Food Tank

Forever Wild Seafood

Green America

Green Monday US

Grow Kentucky

Land Stewardship Project

Local Bounty - Real Good Fish

Mercy For Animals

Mermaid's Garden
Mighty Earth

Migrant Justice / Justicia Migrante

National Family Farm Coalition

National Latino Farmers & Ranchers Trade Association

Northeast Organic Farming Association - Interstate Council

Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York

Northeast Organic Farming Association/Massachusetts Chapter

Ocean2table

One Fish Foundation

Open Markets Institute

Organic Consumers Association

People's Market

Pesticide Action Network

Port Orford Sustainable Seafood

Power Shift Network

Real Food Media

Regeneration Massachusetts

Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA

Sea Forager Seafood

Sierra Student Coalition

Sitka Salmon Shares

Slow Fish International

Slow Food East Bay

Soul Fire Farm

Sustainable Business Network of Massachusetts

The Humane League

Thunder’s Catch Seafood

UnKoch My Campus

Union of Concerned Scientists

United People Market and Farm

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