By Roger Middleton | COO
Thank you for helping us get this far. We have important news: the photography phase of the project is complete.
In July, we spent time on Milk with Dignity farms across Addison and Franklin counties, photographing dairy farmworkers at home and at work. We were welcomed inside the houses where they live and out onto the farms that sustain Vermont's dairy economy. In Franklin County, we joined the farmworker community for their county assembly, a large shared dinner where members come together to organize. In Burlington, photographer (and our Chief Vision Officer) Guillaume Binet documented a Migrant Justice rally, capturing farmworkers and allies standing up for their rights in public.
The portraits, made by Guillaume in collaboration with the farmworkers themselves, show the women and men behind Vermont's milk as they are: specific, and dignified, at home, at work, and in community.
The exhibition has had its first two showings
On September 17, the portraits were shown at the Vermont Community Foundation's annual gathering, where several hundred people met, including Vermont charities, philanthropists, and community leaders. Many of the people who shape giving and policy in this state saw these farmworkers' faces, some for the first time.
Then, on October 3, the exhibition went where it belongs, to the street. Migrant Justice held a picket outside Hannaford Supermarket in South Burlington to mark the nine-year anniversary of Ben & Jerry's joining the Milk with Dignity Program, and to celebrate Vermont Way Foods becoming the program's second participating buyer. Farmworkers and allies urged Hannaford to join the program. For four hours, the portraits stood alongside the workers on the picket line. Shoppers, passersby, and supporters stopped to look, talk, and engage with the work.
These two events capture what this project is about. The same images can speak to funders in a ballroom and to shoppers in a parking lot.
What's next
We are now $649 away from our goal. That final amount will help us complete the weatherproof, modular exhibition so it can keep traveling to farmers markets, community events, and actions across Vermont. When the tour is over, the full portfolio will belong to Migrant Justice permanently, to use in organizing, advocacy, and fundraising for years to come.
If you've already given, thank you. Please consider sharing this project with one friend who cares where their food comes from. Once you see these women, you cannot unsee them.
Thank you.
The PhotoBridge Project
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