The tomato fields of Immokalee, Fla., are thousands of miles away, but a group of UC Santa Cruz students plans to march in symbolic solidarity with that area’s field workers in a protest targeting fast-food giant Taco Bell.

The UCSC group Comercio Justo plans to march and rally beginning at 3:30 p.m. Friday at the Taco Bell on Mission Street. The march will proceed from the Taco Bell to Pacific Avenue.

Farmworker protests and boycotts have targeted Irvine-based Taco Bell during the past two years over allegations of poor working conditions and low pay for tomato pickers near the Florida town.

A group called the Coalition of Immokalee Workers plans a week of protests aimed at the company, with a march on the chain’s parent company, Yum! Brands Inc. of Louisville, Ky., Friday and another at Taco Bell’s Irvine corporate office March 5.

Protesters say they are targeting Taco Bell because the company, as a large buyer of tomatoes, can pressure growers into improving worker conditions. The chain buys 60 million pounds of tomatoes annually, according to its Web site.

The UCSC group expects at least 300 people to march Friday.

"People need to realize where their food comes from and the conditions of those workers," said UCSC sophomore Chloe Lavender, who belongs to the Comercio Justo group.

The Santa Cruz protest will be one of 70 at college campuses and high schools nationwide, the coalition said.

"It’s an opportunity for community members and students to be part of a national movement," said UCSC student Pete Rasmussen, an organizer of Friday’s event.

He said young protesters should get the company’s attention. "Taco Bell will see it is their consumer base (protesting)," Rasmussen said.

Taco Bell recently rewrote its code of conduct for suppliers to explicitly include anti-slavery language, after pressure from the workers’ coalition.

"We use that when we conduct an audit of our suppliers," Taco Bell spokeswoman Sally George said.

She said the protests at any local Taco Bell hurts franchises more than the corporation. Also, she said the issue is in the growers’ hands, not the company’s. "We feel it’s misdirected," George said.

Farmworker advocates say the mostly Mexican and Guatemalan workers earn about 45 cents per 32-pound basket of tomatoes picked, according to The Associated Press.