VALDOSTA —
Harvey’s Supermarkets made a donation of 41,864 pounds of apples to Second Harvest of South Georgia on Monday.
“We really like that what we’re doing is impacting the community locally,” said Harvey’s Marketing Manager Debi Alderman.
The donation was made in affiliation with Harvey’s participation in the Take A Bite Out of Hunger program sponsored by FirstFruits Marketing of Washington. This year, seven retailers, including Harvey’s, have joined the Take A Bite Out of Hunger effort. More than 240,000 pounds of apples are set for donation to local food banks throughout the U.S. and Canada.
“We’ve been affiliated with Second Harvest for years,” said Alderman. “They feed local children and these apples will be distributed all through South Georgia.”
The variety of both golden and granny smith apples averaged about 105 per box and came out to about 157,000 apples.
“These apples will be used in all 30 counties,” said Will Robinson, Chief Operations Officer of Second Harvest of South Georgia.
In addition to being used for Second Harvest’s Kid’s Cafe, the apples will also be sent to emergency pantries and other charitable organizations.
“They will go to about 600 not-for-profits including the Kid’s Cafe,” said Robinson.
According to Robinson, the donation of apples will provide a healthy snack for children who wouldn’t otherwise have one.
“We’ve handed apples to children before and they just jump for joy,” said Robinson. “It’s really exciting.”
However, Robinson noted that while the apples are a more than generous donation from Harvey’s, this is just another example of their ongoing support.
“While this is a fantastic gift, they give to us every day of the year,” said Robinson.
Monday through Friday every week of the year, Second Harvest goes to Harvey’s to pick up food for their organization.
“The J.H. Harvey Corporation is just a wonderful partner,” said Robinson.
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