To our dear Amy's family,

The recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, and the countless others who came before them, are heavy on our hearts. Although what is happening is impacting all of us, we know that the pain, grief and anger for those of you in communities of color, and especially the Black community, are unbearable. To all of you who have been affected by police violence and racism in your families and communities, we stand with you in this fight for justice. Black lives matter, and we will stand with you for as long as it takes to make that true in our country.  

First, we want to acknowledge the fact that issues of equity and justice have not always been a public priority here at Amy’s, as we thought that simply being kind to everyone and feeding all of you were enough. We now understand that to be silent on these issues is to be part of the problem, and that addressing and educating ourselves deeply on issues of unconscious bias and systemic oppression are something that all people and all organizations in America must take on. We are sorry it took us so long. We are taking this time to reflect as a family and gather feedback on how we can make meaningful progress on this in all facets of our life—in our personal lives, internally within our company and externally in support of justice.  

We also want to acknowledge that many of our employees, especially our youth and POC employees, have been active in social justice work for many years, and have been passionate about making this an explicit priority at Amy’s (including the second generation of the family who helped us write and signed on to this letter). We thank them all deeply for their push and the challenging conversations they have had with us and many others. We are already the better for it as a family and a company. 

Actions speak louder than words, and accountability is everything. We wish we had the perfect plan to share with you. But we want to take the time to make sure that we read, listen and learn from the Black community for long enough to understand what actions will be truly impactful. Our social media presence is and has been paused as we take this time to listen and reflect without distracting from the Black voices that need to be heard right now. We will be open with you as we go through this process and share our steps along the way. 

As business owners, we know that economic power can bring justice. While we work on our long-term plan, our family will start personally with the small step of donating $500,000 to organizations supporting Black empowerment and ending police brutality. This is not nearly enough, and money is only one avenue to justice, but we need to start somewhere now. Beyond the incredibly important current moment of protests, these injustices demand ongoing action and commitment. We are here to stay. 

We don’t know the best way to support you all during this painful and inspiring time, but we are listening. Please let us know what we can do for you. 

With love and solidarity,

Andy, Rachel, Jace and Amy