Washington supermarket chain, Haggen Food and Pharmacy, that has recently taken residence in Ventura County, donated 35,000 pounds of fresh protein, produce and dairy to Ventura County’s FOOD Share in an effort to help end hunger.
Haggen which is converting nine Albertsons and VONS locations, collected perishable products from six different stores that FOOD Share was then able to accept and distribute to local agency partners.
“The agencies were overwhelmed by the opportunity to collect so much food in one day,” said Karen Jensen, Food Sourcing Director of FOOD Share. “Haggen has made its mark as a community-focused chain that really wants to do good in its new home of Ventura County.”
In partnership with over 180 different agencies, FOOD Share delivers more than 10 million pounds of food annually to local neighborhood and church food distributions as well as soup kitchens.
“We’re always looking for ways to give back, such as by providing hunger relief, educating our youth and promoting our core value of sustainability,” said Bill Shaner, Haggen Pacific Southwest CEO. “We’re a grocery store and, above all else, we’re here to feed families, whether that’s through the great stores we run or partnering with local agencies like FOOD Share to help those in need.”
About FOOD Share:
More than 35 years ago, eight citizens performed a good deed by distributing food to those who were in need underneath a Ventura bridge. The early philanthropic movement quickly formed into what is now Ventura County’s regional food bank, FOOD Share, which has grown from serving a few hundred hungry people per month to 74,500 people. Today, staff and volunteers distribute more than 10 million pounds of food annually from two warehouses; more than 180 partner agencies, which include neighborhood and church food distributions and soup kitchens; as well as hunger assistance programs. FOOD Share’s programs provide healthy nutrition and education to children, families and seniors, which include: Kids’ Farmers Market, SENIOR Share, Nutrition Education, Community Market, SoCal Gas CARE Program and more. A 501(c)3 non-profit organization, FOOD Share is a member of the Feeding America network, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization. For more information about FOOD Share, visit www.foodshare.com. Find us on Facebook and Twitter.
About Haggen
Founded in 1933 in Bellingham, Washington, Haggen has built its business on providing guests the freshest and most local products with genuine service, while supporting the communities it serves. The company currently operates stores in Washington and Oregon, and is in the process of acquiring an additional 146 stores and establishing a second headquarters in Irvine, California. With this acquisition, Haggen will expand from 18 stores with 16 pharmacies to 164 stores with 106 pharmacies; from 2,000 employees to more than 10,000 employees; and from a Pacific Northwest company with locations in Oregon and Washington to a major regional grocery chain with locations in Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and Arizona. Throughout its eight decades in business, the company has supported regional farms, ranches, fisheries and other businesses, creating a lasting and sustainable local food economy. The company remains focused on building local, sustainable food economies as it expands. For more information about what’s happening at Haggen, visit haggen.com, find us on Facebook or follow Haggen Southwest on Instagram and Twitter.
