Bakersfield, California-based Grimmway Farms is donating fresh carrots to support Kern County residents and California food banks during the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.
Last Thursday company president Jeff Huckaby delivered baby carrot snack packs to six hospitals and numerous clinics throughout Bakersfield. Grimmway’s donation will provide vitamin-rich carrots to aid healthcare workers fighting on the front lines at Memorial Hospital, Adventist Health, Bakersfield Heart Hospital, Kern Medical and Mercy Hospitals in downtown and southwest Bakersfield.
This week the company committed to supporting the establishment of pop-up grocery stores on the Memorial, Mercy and Adventist Health hospital campuses. These temporary stores will provide healthcare staff with food and household items that they can access quickly and safely on site, including fresh produce donated by Grimmway and other local producers.
“Grimmway is a leader of social responsibility in this community and we are honored to partner with you during this time,” shared the Friends of Mercy Foundation through a Facebook post.
The company is also sending twice-weekly shipments of baby carrots and whole carrots to the Community Action Partnership of Kern Food Bank and is set to deliver truckloads of produce to Fresno, Oakland, Fairfield, Sacramento and San Francisco over the next week through the California Association of Food Banks’ (CAFB) Farm to Family program. Grimmway’s food bank donation supplies carrots that will feed thousands of families throughout California.
“Thank you Jeff Huckaby and Grimmway Farms for your immediate response to a plea to help California food banks meet the significant increase in demand,” said Karen Ross, Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
A single serving of carrots provides more than half of the daily recommended value of vitamin A, a powerful micronutrient that supports the immune system.
“Grimmway is uniquely positioned to provide produce to families and frontline workers during this challenging time and we’re working with state and local organizations to ensure fresh food is available to those in need,” said Jeff Huckaby, President of Grimmway Farms. “We’re all working toward a common goal to keep our communities safe and we’re committed to seeing this through together.”
If you are a California grower or broker with surplus produce, Grimmway Farms encourages you to connect with Kate Haefke at the CAFB Farm to Family program at (510) 350-9907 or [email protected].
