Lake Apopka Farmworker Memorial Quilt Project

Tomatoland Author and Lake Apopka Quilt at Rollins College

Lake Apopka Farmworker Women Recognized by Author

    

       On November 27, 2012, Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida brought author Barry Estabrook  to their campus to speak about his book, Tomatoland.

     The blue quilt was displayed in front of an audience of over  100 people, including students and people from the local community.  Among them were Farmworker Association members and 3 of the Lake Apopka farmworkers. 

      During his talk and power point presentation,  Mr. Estabrook personally recognized the Lake Apopka farmworkers in the audience personally and spoke of the quilts.  He referred to his book where he writes how, by 1996, modern industrial agriculture had destroyed Lake Apopka and forced 2,500 farmworkers off the land where they had lived and worked when the state of Florida bought the large farms. 

Tomatoland has garnered media attention nationwide in revealing the other side of the story of tomato production in Florida.   

It is a must read!