Buy Goya rebellion rewards Hispanic-American success story

FPI / July 16, 2020

Commentary by Paul Crespo

Goya Foods, one of America’s premier Latino brands, is under attack by the leftist ‘cancel culture’ mob because its CEO, Bob Unanue, had the audacity to praise President Donald Trump for being a “builder’ like his own immigrant grandfather, the founder of the company. Unanue also said the country was “truly blessed” to have a leader like Trump.

Thankfully, as reported by World Tribune Unanue has refused to back down, and the Goya boycott has turned into a ‘buycott,’ as Latinos and Americans of all stripes and ethnicities show their support and “Buy Goya.”

Meanwhile, Goya’s defenders are taking flak. As reported by Fox News, Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and a senior White House adviser, “drew swift criticism on social media late Tuesday when she Tweeted a picture of herself holding a can of Goya black beans.”

“If it’s Goya, it has to be good,” she jokingly posted the Goya motto under the photo. Ivanka also included the Spanish translation, “Si es Goya, tiene que ser Bueno.”

Ignoring the fact that Democrat Congressmen and other office holders, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, are openly trying to ruin the company, New York Times reporters quickly tweeted about how government employees or office holders should not “endorse any product, service or enterprise…”

The irony of course is that Goya Foods is an amazing Hispanic-American success story that Democrats and the Left should be applauding instead of tearing down. As an American of Spanish-Cuban heritage, I wish I could say Goya was originally Cuban, but Goya Foods was founded in New York City in 1936 by an immigrant couple from Spain and Puerto Rico — Prudencio and Carolina Unanue.

It has since grown to become the largest, Hispanic-owned food company in the United States.

As the company websites notes, initially focused on immigrants in lower Manhattan and then Brooklyn and only sold in "bodegas," or mom & pop specialty stores, Goya Foods is now a staple in national stores like Costco, Sam’s Club, and BJ’s Wholesale, and can be found in aisles in chain supermarkets across the nation.

The company employs four thousand people and generates $1.5 billion in annual sales — a truly impressive American success story.

Goya Foods is also extremely socially conscious and involved in the community – all traits the Left should be applauding. As the company website describes, "Goya Gives" is a program to support various charities and scholarships, and includes food donations to food shelters and food banks during emergencies, such as Hurricane Maria, Superstorm Sandy, and Hurricanes Harvey and Irene.

In response to the current Coronavirus pandemic, Goya also reports that it just donated over 300,000 pounds of food, or about 270,000 meals, to food banks and relief groups in the U.S., and also donated more than 20,000 protective masks. Earlier, in 2017-2018, the company launched the ‘Can Do’ campaign to benefit ‘Feeding America’ and donated over 1.5 million pounds of food to families in need across the country.

The company has made such a national impact, that in 2011, President Barack Obama honored Goya "for its continued success and commitment to the Hispanic community," the only company to ever be honored by POTUS in that way, notes the Goya website.

According to a 2012 Obama White House statement, former first lady Michelle Obama also praised the company for supporting her Let’s Move! healthy-eating initiative, saying: “Goya is utilizing their incredible reach into communities across the country to get this helpful information to the hand of parents…Everything that Goya is doing – from the MiPlato posters and pamphlets to cookbooks and recipes – center around the idea that we parents can make simple changes to help their children lead healthier lives.”

Yet, instead of applauding and honoring this great example of Hispanic-American success and social responsibility today, the Democrats and the Left are viciously trying to tear it down — just because the CEO now praised Trump.

The hypocritical Left should be ashamed of itself, and all Americans should be proud of Goya Foods and its courageous CEO.

Free Press International