The Duke Chronicle had such a lively exchange about the boycott that Mt. Olive bought a quarter-page ad presenting its case. A march from Mt. Olive to Raleigh, the state capital, in the blistering heat in 1998 garnered considerable attention. Some church groups do not consider the boycott fair. The Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina turned down a boycott resolution a year ago. Bryan participated in the debate.
Some neutral observers say the hearing was loaded with defenders of Mt. Olive, including Bryan.
A January 20 meeting will bring presbytery and Hunger Program personnel together to discuss the issue. If the presbytery disapproves and the Hunger Program decides to go ahead with the grant, which it can do, an appeal is possible. Interestingly, the Maumee Valley Presbytery in Ohio appealed such a grant to FLOC in the early 1980s. In 1990 the presbytery supported a second grant wholeheartedly and later gave a peacemaking award to Velasquez, Campbell and the Campbell's Growers' Association. Last February a Hunger Program hearing took place in the Mt. Hope Presbyterian Church, where leaders from the Mt. Hope community strongly defended the pickle company.