My older brothers took great pains to school me in the fine art of skipping rocks at Atkins Lake near our childhood home. I spent many hours fine-tuning my technique to make sure my carefully selected rock skimmed the water perfectly – achieving multiple skips which were documented by the number of concentrated ripples cascading into each other on the water’s surface. Years later, I have learned that it is not the stones we skip that create the most memorable ripples, but the cumulative currents of good originally generated by our acts of kindness and care.
In today’s world it is far too easy to miss the powerful ripple effect caused by one kind act, and no one demonstrates this better than food retailers. Whether it’s helping youth through mentorship or education programs, providing sustenance to the food insecure, or improving the health of their neighborhoods, it’s the oft-unmentioned goodwill of grocers that serve and shape our communities. As community cornerstones, grocers strive to make a difference and extend a helping hand to neighbors near and far.
I was impressed by the creativity and reach of the 15 nominated programs and I look forward to watching the programs continue to grow and evolve. Here are FMI’s 2017 Community Outreach Award Winners:
Neighborhood Health Improvement Programs - Skogen's Festival Foods Turkey Trot
Festival Foods employees contributed in excess of 200 hours to plan and execute the Turkey Trot. In 2016, the event was held in 10 locations and had a total of 31,000 registrants, an increase of 16.32 percent from 2015. The event raised $360,000, and over the span of its nine years, fundraising has totaled $1,930,000.
Programs Addressing Food Insecurity - Hy-Vee, Inc Hurricane Relief
![Hyvee Hyvee](/images/default-source/blog-images/img_5074.tmb-small.jpg?Culture=en&sfvrsn=28407c6e_3)
Youth Development Programs - Family Fare, a SpartanNash company, Culinary Disovery Camps and Restaurant Camps
![culinary-discovery-camps-and-restaurant-camp_culinary-camp-students-in-the-kitchen culinary-discovery-camps-and-restaurant-camp_culinary-camp-students-in-the-kitchen](/images/default-source/blog-images/culinary-discovery-camps-and-restaurant-camp_culinary-camp-students-in-the-kitchen.tmb-small.jpg?Culture=en&sfvrsn=dc417c6e_3)
People’s Pick Social Media Category Winner - Smart & Final's Grab & Go Food Drives
![grab-go-food-drives_associates WEB grab-go-food-drives_associates WEB](/images/default-source/blog-images/grab-go-food-drives_associates-web.tmb-small.jpg?Culture=en&sfvrsn=c5417c6e_3)