A Thanksgiving message from farmworkers

Today, as families around the country gather to share a meal and give thanks, farmworkers are working long hours in the cold weather to bring food to our tables. From dairy barns and milking parlors around the state, dozens of workers have filmed short videos with a holiday message. Farmworkers are asking Hannaford Supermarkets' president Mike Vail to join the Milk with Dignity Program. For years the company has rejected workers' calls to address the poor conditions and horrendous abuses on the farms producing Hannaford-brand milk. It's time for Hannaford to get with the Program!

Video from the Milk with Dignity Month of Action

As the weather turns cold, dairy workers on the farms producing Hannaford-brand milk are preparing for another winter without essential human rights protections. 

The Milk with Dignity Program ensures that farmworkers live in dignified housing fit for human habitation. Through the Program, hundreds of workers and their families have won tangible improvements to housing conditions – or in some cases, the construction of brand new housing. This is just one of the protections that Hannaford denies to the farmworkers in its supply chain through its refusal to join Milk with Dignity.

Despite Hananford’s delays, farmworkers are persisting. This fall, many of you joined workers on the picket line to protest the abuses and human rights violations on Hannaford’s farms and hold the company accountable. Check out the newly-released video from the Month of Action!

10/18: Mass Call-in day to Hannaford Supermarket

We recently wrapped up a month of action picketing Hannaford Supermarkets. With pressure mounting on Hannaford, we are asking supporters to call the company headquarters and urge them to meet with farmworkers. Throughout the campaign, thousands of people have called the office of Hannaford President Mike Vail to show their solidarity. Today, October 18th, take a minute to make a call: tell Hannaford that you want Milk with Dignity!

Once you've called, "Read More" to get a recap from the month of action!


End of day update: nearly 300 calls to Hannaford!

Photo-report from the Milk with Dignity Month of Action: Week 4

On October 3rd, farmworkers and consumers picketed Hannaford Supermarkets for the fourth time in as many weeks, wrapping up a month of action demanding Milk with Dignity. The final action was the biggest and boldest of the month, with marchers passing by Hannaford’s security cordon to bring our demands directly to the store’s front door.

After a spirited picket – our chants resonating with the rhythm of dozens of homemade drums – marchers made their way towards the Hannaford store. As in past weeks, Hannaford’s managers and hired security guards moved to block the march. This week, however, the crowd passed them by, peacefully proceeding to the store’s front door. As managers barricaded the doors in a fruitless attempt to keep customers from hearing workers’ messages, dairy worker Hilario addressed the company.

Read more to get the full story and see the beautiful photos from the final picket of the Milk with Dignity Month of Action!

Milk with Dignity turns six; dairy workers wrap up the Hannaford Month of Action with one final picket

Today, October 3rd, 2023, marks the sixth anniversary of the launch of the Milk with Dignity Program. Six years ago, dairy workers and Ben & Jerry’s joined together in front of the company’s flagship store to sign the first Milk with Dignity agreement. This historic moment represented the first time that a dairy company joined with farmworkers in its supply chain to protect workers’ rights.

Today also marks four years since dairy workers first publicly invited Hannaford Supermarkets to follow in Ben & Jerry’s footsteps and join Milk with Dignity. Over the past four years, Hannaford has hidden from its responsibility to ensure respect for the human rights of the farmworkers behind their store-brand milk, opting instead to promote empty standards and knock-off initiatives that mimic the Milk with Dignity Program without providing any of its protections.

To celebrate the anniversary, we are releasing a new video from this summer’s Milk with Dignity march through Portland, Maine. Read more to watch the video and get the latest on the Milk with Dignity Month of Action!

Photo-report from the Milk with Dignity Month of Action: Week 2

On September 22nd, farmworkers and consumers turned out in force to picket Hannaford Supermarket and demand Milk with Dignity. This was the second of four weekly pickets in the Milk with Dignity Month of Action.

The Milk with Dignity Month of Action will continue in the coming weeks, with pickets on 9/28 and 10/3 – the anniversary of the launch of the program in Ben & Jerry’s supply chain. Each picket starts at 5:30 pm at 935 Shelburne, Rd, South Burlington, VT.

Read more and check the photo-report

Photo-report from the Milk with Dignity Month of Action: Week 1

On September 13th, farmworkers and consumers turned out in force to picket Hannaford Supermarket and demand Milk with Dignity. This was the first of four weekly pickets in the Milk with Dignity Month of Action.

The Milk with Dignity Month of Action will continue all month, with pickets on 9/22, 9/28, and the grand finale on 10/3 – the anniversary of the launch of the program in Ben & Jerry’s supply chain. Each picket starts at 5:30pm at 935 Shelburne, Rd, South Burlington, VT

Read More to see the full photo-report!

Photos from the Pride Parade – kicking off the Month of Action

On September 10th, a contingent of immigrant farmworkers marched in the annual Vermont Pride Parade. As is tradition, the Migrant Justice contingent marched with rainbow-painted butterflies; this year, we added home-made marching drums emblazoned with messages of solidarity.

Sunday’s Pride Parade kicked off the Milk with Dignity Month of Action, which will continue throughout September with a series of weekly pickets at 5:30pm in front of the Hannaford at 935 Shelburne Rd. in South Burlington, VT.

Read more to see the photos from the Pride Parade and Festival – and to get the details on the Month of Action!

“You get in the f—ing barn”: Announcing the Milk with Dignity Month of Action

Vermont Public recently published an explosive report on violence and abuse on dairy farms in Hannaford Supermarkets’ supply chain. The report interviews Miguel, a farmworker who was assaulted and then fired by his employer. 

Miguel was in the middle of a 12-hour overnight shift when he went outside the barn to speak with a volunteer from a local church selling food and medicine to the farmworkers. His employer approached Miguel, grabbed him, and shoved him back into the barn.

The police arrived on the scene following the incident, and the farm owner admitted to the assault and to yelling at Miguel to “get in the f––ing barn.” He then goes on to claim, without irony, that “we treat them so good” and that his is “one of the only farms around here that treat these guys excellent.”

Read More to get the full story and learn how to join the Month of Action!

The National Farm Worker Ministry takes action for Milk with Dignity

The National Farm Worker Ministry has been organizing faith communities since 1920 to support farmworkers. They were a key pillar of solidarity in the United Farm Workers’ historic grape boycotts of the 1960s. Now the NFWM is throwing their support behind dairy workers’ fight for Milk with Dignity!

Now, the Ministry is holding their annual Board of Directors meeting at the Migrant Justice office in Vermont. Faith leaders from around the country are gathering to chart the future of the organization and build relationships with dairy workers organizing for human rights and economic justice. On July 28th, NFWM and Migrant Justice will join forces to picket Hannaford Supermarkets and call on the grocery chain to join the Milk with Dignity Program.

Come out to the picket line on 7/28 at 5:30pm in South Burlington to join farmworkers and faith leaders demanding Milk with Dignity!

Click “Read More” to get the full story and learn about another black mark on Hananford’s human rights record.

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