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FROM THE PUBLISHER 4 KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW n SEPTEMBER 2015 n www.kitchenwarenews.com publisher from the Periodicals postage paid at Tucson, AZ and additional mail- ing office. Kitchenware News & Housewares Review (USPS012-625) is published 12 times per year (Jan., Feb., March, April, September, September, September, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec.) by Oser Communications Group, 1877 N. Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ, 85715 520.721.1300. Publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material or prices quoted in newspaper. Contributors are responsible for proper release of proprietary classified information. ©2015 by Oser Communications Group. All rights reserved. Reproduction, in whole or in part, without written permis- sion of the publisher, is expressly prohibited. Back issues, when available, cost $8 each within the past 12 months. Back issue orders must be paid in advance by check. Kitchenware News & Housewares Review is distributed without charge in North America to qualified professionals in the retail and distribution channels of the upscale kitchenware and tabletop trade. For subscriber services, including subscription information, call 520.721.1300. Printed in the USA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Kitchenware News & Housewares Review, 1877 N. Kolb PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Lee M. Oser ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERS Jules Denton jules_d@oser.com Kim Forrester Paul Harris paul_h@oser.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Lorrie Baumann lorrie_b@oser.com EDITOR Amber Gallegos amber_g@oser.com CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Micah Cheek micah_c@oser.com GRAPHIC DESIGNERS André Gressieux Yasmine Brown NATIONAL ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Randal Fisher randal_f@oser.com CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGERCaitlyn Roach caitlyn_r@oser.com CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Tara Neal CIRCULATION MANAGER Jamie Green jamie_g@oser.com Kitchenware News & Housewares Review is a publication of Oser Communications Group Inc. 1877 N. Kolb Road • Tucson, AZ 85715 520.721.1300 www.kitchenwarenews.com www.oser.com PRESIDENT Lee M. Oser H o u s e w a r e s R e v i e w KITCHENWARE NEWS S E R V I N G K I T C H E N WA R E, H O M E D E C O R A N D G I F T WA R E M A R K E T S Since our last issue went to print, Ahold USA, parent company to Stop and Shop, Giant and Peapod has signed onto the Fair Food Agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, an organization of Florida tomato farmworkers. With nearly 780 supermarkets in 14 states and the District of Columbia, Ahold USA's participation in the program will increase the number of American stores offering Fair Food tomatoes by about 75 percent. As part of this agreement, Ahold USA, like the other signatories to the agreement, which include Fresh Market, Trader Joe's, Walmart and Whole Foods, agrees that it will buy Florida tomatoes only f rom growers that have signed onto the workers' organization's Fair Food Code of Conduct. The Code, developed through negotiations between workers, growers and buyers, requires that growers pass on to their workers a per-pound premium paid by the grocery stores, that wages are paid fairly and that everyone understands how they're figured. The Code also requires that field workers become employees of the growers – they can't be employees of a contractor. It also requires that the grower comply with worker health and safety standards. Slavery, sexual harassment and the use of child labor are banned. The Fair Food Agreement is a result of years of organizing by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, which pick almost all of the tomatoes consumed in the country during the winter and early spring, and of negotiations between the Coalition, the growers who own and operate the field in which they work, and grocery retailers and foodservice operators. The success of what has been called "the best workplace monitoring program in the U.S." by the New York Times, though, is also due to consumers' willingness to pay a fair price to ensure that the food they eat isn't tainted by the sins of slavery and workplace violence. Congratulations to Ahold USA for standing with its customers as well as standing up for the standards by which, increasingly, American consumers want their food to be grown, processed and sold. KN Lee M. Oser, Publisher