Food service provider Bon Appetit will continue to serve up juicy red slices and wedges in burgers, sandwiches and salads at Penn, despite a tomato embargo affecting other campuses serviced by the company.
Student Life, the student newspaper at Washington University in St. Louis, reported last week that Bon Appetit signed an agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, stating that Bon Appetit will only buy tomatoes from farms that have signed an agreement guaranteeing farm workers’ rights.
The rights highlighted in the agreement include higher wages and better working conditions for tomato pickers.
As a result, Washington University’s Bon Appetit-related vendors are only serving grape tomatoes, which are smaller than the tomatoes typically used.
But Bon Appetit’s division at Penn is not affected by the embargo, according to Barbara Lea-Kruger, spokeswoman for Penn Business Services.
“Bon Appetit at Penn Dining can continue to serve tomatoes because it secures its tomatoes from East Coast Grower, which was among the first companies to sign the Code of Conduct for Sustainable Tomato Suppliers,” Lea-Kruger said.
She also noted that the Code of Conduct calls for “higher safety standards” for workers.
