Company : Giant Food
Program category : 2022 2022 Food Security

Origins:

In 2021, Giant Food donated 4,600,288 pounds of food to its five Feeding America food bank partners. According to Feeding America, 1.2 pounds of food equals one meal, which means Giant Food donated enough food for 3,833,573 meals. Two programs Giant Food supports to make fresh food more accessible in food desserts and for low-income families are Curbside Grocery and Produce Rx. Giant Food was able to partner with the Capital Area Food Bank and in 2020 launched Curbside Grocery. Curbside Grocery is a food truck sponsored by Giant Food, that is filled with healthy fruits and vegetables, and it drives daily to multiple areas in Ward 8 of Washington, D.C. so that its citizens may have easier access to purchasing healthy food for themselves and their families. The first Curbside Grocery was such a success, that Giant supported a second Curbside Grocery truck which launched in the Fall of 2021 in Prince George’s County, MD, another community in Giant’s region that struggles mightily with hunger. Produce Rx was another way in which Giant could support the health and wellness of its Ward 8 community members. In 2019, Giant Food and charitable organization DC Greens launched the Produce Rx program, where a Ward 8 resident could visit a doctor’s office and if found to be food insecure, received what is essentially a prescription for healthy food. The resident could then bring this prescription to the Giant Food pharmacy and receive a $20 coupon each week to buy fresh produce. The program was such a success at Giant’s store in Ward 8, that as of April this year it has launched at all five Washington D.C. Giant stores that have a pharmacy. Since launching in all five locations, Giant Food has seen a major increase in its Produce Rx coupon redemption rate.

Contribution:

In the January of 2021, the Giant Family Foundation distributed a grand total of $960,000 to Giant’s five Feeding America food bank partners: Capital Area Food Bank, Maryland Food Bank, Food Bank of Delaware, Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank, and Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, as well as Martha’s Table, a charitable organization that helps families and children get access to high quality education and food in Washington, D.C. Each of the food banks and Martha’s Table used the grant money to support programs that help children gain access to nutritious and healthy food. Some of the funds donated to the Capital Area Food Bank through the Giant Family Foundation were used to support and sponsor the two Curbside Grocery trucks. For Produce Rx, Giant Food partners with DC Greens, AmeriHealth Caritas DC, DC Health, and community clinics to pay for the $20 coupons for fresh fruit and vegetables, which are given to individuals experiencing a diet-related chronic illness.

Objectives:

The program objectives for Curbside Grocery are the following:

  • Curbside Groceries delivers a full market basket of goods and groceries year-round.
  • The trucks target neighborhoods in Washington D.C. Ward 7 & 8 (Highlands, Congress Heights, Fort Stanton, and Anacostia), and Prince George's County, MD with few retail grocery options
  • This initiative is intended to remove transportation barriers, create access to healthy food, and enable healthier diets for all residents.
  • Curbside Groceries is presented by a coalition of partners including the Capital Area Food Bank and Giant Food. The program objectives for Produce Rx is to to further support hunger relief efforts, nutrition counseling and access to healthy foods. By giving a $20 coupon for fresh fruit and vegetable to food insecure patience, it will allow them to get the health food they need on a weekly basis.

Impact:

Giant Food's Produce Rx program launched in 2019 in Giant's store in Ward 8. The program was such a success that in April Giant Food and DC Greens were able to launch the program at all 5 Giant Pharmacies in the Nation's Capital. Though I cannot share the exact numbers, over 1,000 individuals are using Produce Rx and the program is going swimmingly. Giant Food and the Capital Area Food Bank launched its first Curbside Grocery in 2020. The truck would make daily stops throughout Ward 7 & 8 of Washington D.C. serving over 300 people a week. This past fall, Giant and the Capital Area Food Bank launched a second Curbside Grocery truck in Prince George's County, Md and are also serving between 200-400 individuals a week.

Quote:

About Produce Rx: “Giant Food is excited to offer the Produce Rx program across all five Giant Pharmacies in our Nation's Capital,” said Ira Kress, President at Giant Food. “As a food retailer, we recognize the important role we can play in the access to healthy foods and health education, and the program has certainly been a natural fit with our ongoing efforts to support the health needs of the communities we serve.”

About Curbside Grocery: “As a grocery store and a proud member of this community for over 86 years, Giant Food recognizes the important role we play in the fight against hunger,” said Ira Kress, President of Giant Food. “We are excited to partner with the Capital Area Food Bank to launch two Curbside Grocery trucks, and further our commitment to make affordable, healthy food more accessible to the communities that need it most in Ward 8 of Washington, D.C. and Prince George's County, Maryland.”

Quote on Produce Rx: "We believe that cross-sector partnerships are the only way to achieve health equity in our city," said Lauren Shweder Biel, Executive Director of DC Greens. "Doctors and patients both need more tools to address food insecurity and diet-related chronic illness. Through Produce Rx, our healthcare system can be a driver to get patients access to the healthy food that they want and need."

Quote on Curbside Grocery: Prince George's County County Executive Angela Angelbrooks: " Today, the Capital Area Food Bank’s Curbside Groceries program officially launched in Prince George’s County. Curbside Groceries is a mobile grocery truck that brings fresh and affordable groceries into communities that currently lack easy access to a grocery store. This is one of the innovative ways we are working to address food insecurity and food deserts in our County. We want to thank the Capital Area Food Bank, the County Council, Giant Food, and UnitedHealthcare for partnering with us to bring this new program to our County."

Support Statement:

Quote on Produce Rx: "We believe that cross-sector partnerships are the only way to achieve health equity in our city," said Lauren Shweder Biel, Executive Director of DC Greens. "Doctors and patients both need more tools to address food insecurity and diet-related chronic illness. Through Produce Rx, our healthcare system can be a driver to get patients access to the healthy food that they want and need." Quote on Curbside Grocery: Prince George's County County Executive Angela Angelbrooks: " Today, the Capital Area Food Bank’s Curbside Groceries program officially launched in Prince George’s County. Curbside Groceries is a mobile grocery truck that brings fresh and affordable groceries into communities that currently lack easy access to a grocery store. This is one of the innovative ways we are working to address food insecurity and food deserts in our County. We want to thank the Capital Area Food Bank, the County Council, Giant Food, and UnitedHealthcare for partnering with us to bring this new program to our County."