Hannaford Supports Local Farm-to-School Program
Hannaford Supermarkets has donated $10,000 to the Clippers Farm to School program at an event held at the Little Harbour Elementary School, in Portsmouth, N.H.
“Hannaford believes strongly that by bringing a deeper connection and understanding of the world around us — from how plants grow to where food comes from — we will plant the seeds for kids to form lifelong healthy eating habits,” explained Maile Buker, VP of marketing at Scarborough, Maine-based Hannaford. “Introducing kids early on to local, healthy and tasty food and helping people live healthier lives are some of the underpinnings of our business at Hannaford. And we are proud to support the Clippers program in their efforts to bring the love, knowledge and experience of gardening to the classroom.”
A district-wide gift to Clippers – part of a national farm-to-school movement that introduces children to locally grown, farm-fresh food – Hannaford’s donation will be used among Portsmouth’s six schools for soil, seeds, fencing and irrigation systems. Since May 2016, all of the district’s schools have had gardens.
“Our school gardens, across the district at all six schools, are a place where all students have access to growing fresh and nutritious food, and where we connect curriculum standards with hands-on learning,” explained Kate Vellucci, program coordinator for Clippers in the Portsmouth School District, and in the city’s Nutrition Department. “Students learn science, math, technology, engineering, history, equity, art and so much more through experiencing where food comes from, how, and the work that is involved by us and a thriving environment. Hannaford’s contribution will grow our district-wide capacity by getting more students out into the gardens learning, and more harvests into our school cafeterias."
The donation was a part of a day’s activities that also included third-graders at the Harbour School building pea trellises and making pea salad with chef Matt Louis under the auspices of Hannaford Chef’s Table, a partnership between the grocer and six prominent chefs to focus attention on such serious community issues such as child hunger and work to address those needs.
“The Clippers program is remarkable in the way that they connect students with growing food and nutrition,” said Louis. “Supporting this program as part of the Hannaford Chef’s Table is a great way to share our passion for tasty fresh food and for strengthening our communities. Spreading the message that all children should have access to nutritious food — like the food that’s being grown in these gardens is what it’s all about.”
Hannaford operates 181 stores in Maine, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont, employing more than 26,000 associates. Parent company Ahold Delhaize USA is No. 4 on Progressive Grocer’s 2018 Super 50 list of the top grocers in the United States.
