By ADELE UPHAUS
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
Giant Food has partnered with two local organizations in recent weeks in efforts to alleviate food insecurity in the Fredericksburg region.
Government students at Stafford High School used a $17,000 grant from Giant’s “Nourishing Our Youth” round-up program to prepare 385 meal kits for students for whom spring break is not only a break from school but also from receiving daily breakfast and lunch.
As part of the service learning project, the students researched food insecurity in the area, as well as the logistics of packaging and delivering the spring break meal kits. Using the grant money, the students purchased 9,350 pantry staple items and, over a two-and-a-half hour period, assembled and loaded the 385 meal kits for delivery to the 27 county schools that requested them.
Stafford High School principal Chelsea Tryon said the project was a “clear demonstration” of the students’ commitment to the principles that define the school’s culture, which are summed up by the acronym TRIBE.
“At Stafford High School, TRIBE stands for Trust, Respect, Integrity, Betterment, and Effort,” Tryon said. “We are proud of our school culture and we strive to apply these principles in connecting with our community.”
Giant Food’s local store management and human resources team also visited the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank last week to celebrate the donation of 200 Easter hams that will be shared with the community through the food bank’s mobile distribution program.
The Giant associates stayed on-site to help the food bank’s team assemble 500 boxes for distribution, according to Dan Maher, president and CEO of the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank.
“We have also received a $50,000 donation from the Giant Family Foundation to support our children’s feeding programs, as well as a donation of $33,484 from Giant’s in-store Lend a Hand for Hunger campaign,” Maher told the Advance.
