This petition was inspired by George Floyd’s tragic death. Those who sign this petition believe that the Fordham community should take action to help minority, over-incarcerated communities.

Aramark abuses their power as food caterers within prisons, acting as an effective monopoly over prisoners who do not have discretion over their food intake, in order to cut costs. This has led to prisoners being fed contaminated food, sometimes containing mold and maggots. The Guardian states that “[i]ncarcerated people are six times more likely to contract foodborne illnesses than people on the outside. Across the country, prisoners complain of hunger, sometimes intense enough that it drives them to eat toothpaste and toilet paper. They have been served rancid chicken, food infested with maggots, cake that was nibbled on by rats.” Aramark has been at the forefront of this problem and is cited in almost every article about prison food misconduct. We believe that taking action against Aramark’s unjust food catering services is appropriate during this time. This problem disproportionately affects over-incarcerated communities, which are disproportionately black. Fordham taking action could make real change for these suffering people. Additionally, such action will show Fordham’s solidarity with black communities that are over-policed and over-incarcerated.

Those who sign this petition want to work with the Fordham administration to remove Aramark from Fordham’s payroll while retaining low-wage dining staff. If Fordham’s non-compete contract with Aramark is legally enforceable, we expect Fordham to concede to a binding contract which would abstain from renewing Aramark’s contractual monopoly. We do not want our community to employ corporations that aid in the systematic dehumanization of prisoners nor the excessive profitability of private prisons that have lobbied for tougher-on-crime legislation that has destroyed black communities. Our community and our Jesuit values recognize the dignity of each person, and that includes those who can not speak for themselves.

We would love to work with student advocacy groups and groups which represent student interests to stepup and help us in our mission. This includes, but is not limited to:

Fordham RH USG (@fordhamusg)
Fordham LC USG (@fordhamusglc)
Fordham Observer (@fordhamobserver)
Fordham RH BSA (@asili_fu)
Fordham LC BSA (@bsa_lc)
Fordham RH STEP (@fordhamstep_rh)
Fordham LC STEP (@fordhamstep_lc)
Fordham RH MSA (@msa.fordham)
Fordham LC MSA (@fordham.lcmsa)
Fordham Workers' Rights Advocates (fordhamwra@gmail.com)
Fordham Advocates for the Incarcerated (@fordhamafti)