Anti-ICE Activists Tell Newark School Board To Cut Ties With NJ Food Company

NEWARK, NJ — Immigration advocates are calling on the Newark Board of Education to cut ties with a company that allegedly “feeds the deportation machine” by supplying food to federal detainees at Delaney Hall.

Several New Jersey advocacy groups have launched an online campaign against Driscoll Foods, one of the largest independent foodservice distributors in the Northeast. The family-owned business has a 507,000 square foot facility in Wayne. It services restaurants, diners and schools, among other clients.

According to advocates – who have cited documents obtained via the state’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA) – the company also provides food for detainees imprisoned at Delaney Hall in Newark.

The 1,000-bed prison is the first federal detention center to open under President Donald Trump’s second term. Its owner, the GEO Group – one of the largest private prison companies in the nation – was awarded a 15-year contract that it valued at $1 billion to run the new detention center last year.

Delaney Hall has seen a wave of controversy since reopening, including allegations of poor treatment of detainees and visitors, several arrests involving demonstrators, federal charges against the city’s mayor and a U.S. congresswoman, a high-profile prison escape, and a detainee who died in federal custody.

Advocates recently sent a letter to Driscoll Foods, demanding that the company terminate any existing contract with the GEO Group. It was signed by GWD Indivisible, New Jersey DSA Immigrant Justice Working Group, Cooper River Indivisible, NJ Voters Want More Say, and Plainfields Area Indivisible.

Representatives from Driscoll haven’t responded to media requests about the allegations.

Meanwhile, advocates have been pressuring New Jersey’s largest public school district to end its relationship with Driscoll Foods.

The Newark school district has three active contracts with Metropolitan Foods Inc. – doing business as Driscoll Foods – to provide cafeteria food items. The contracts total an amount not to exceed about $12 million, TAPinto Newark reported.

Last week, activists showed up at the Newark Board of Education meeting to push for more action, rallying outside McKinley Elementary School beforehand.

“At a time when ICE is terrorizing and abducting Newark students and their parents, the Newark Board of Education must cut ties with Driscoll Foods and avoid doing business with any other companies that support ICE’s racist terror campaign,” said Geoff Johnson, a parent in Newark.

Several people urged the board to end its contracts with Driscoll during the public comment portion of the meeting (watch video footage here).

Board president Hasani Council responded to the comments from the public, saying that the district is required to follow state law on bidding its contracts – which go to the “lowest responsible bidder” that has registered as a vendor.

Josephine Garcia said the board has heard the concerns from the community and doesn’t “take them lightly.”

“We were a little taken back tonight and how we were going to navigate this conversation,” she said. “But we – the board of education – wholeheartedly care about our Hispanic and immigrant communities.”

Activists said they plan to continue going to school board meetings.

• Related: ICE Raid At Newark Business Sparks Worries From Immigration Advocates
• Related: Detainee Population Surges At ICE Prison In NJ After It Reopens Under Trump
• Related: NJ Immigrant Detainee Dies In ICE Custody, Sparking Outcry

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