For years, University of Florida students and agricultural coalitions have been pressuring campus administrators — with some success — to insist that UF's main food vendor pay workers better and work toward offering more sustainable food options.
Now, with the vendor's contract coming up for review in the coming year, they are bringing even more pressure to bear.
A letter sent to UF administrators this week outlines several demands for the contract.
It was sent by the Food Justice League, a local activist organization, and the Agricultural Justice Project, a Gainesville-based nonprofit rooted in local communities nationwide. The letter featured 41 national and regional supportive signatures, including some members of the Gainesville and Alachua County commissions, the county's school board, the Alachua County Labor Coalition, UF faculty and graduate student union branches and a number of nearby farms.