Giant Food has donated $100,370 to support local farmers throughout the greater Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia region through a partnership with the American Farmland Trust’s Brighter Future Fund.
From April 7-27, customers were given the option to round up their grocery purchases to the nearest dollar at checkout. This donation will be allocated to help six local farmers improve farm viability, access, transfer or permanently protect farmland or adopt regenerative agricultural practices.
Giant’s donation will support local farmers throughout the region with grants up to $10,000 per project. In 2022, Giant raised $108,380 to benefit farms like:
- Sisters of the Soil Community Farm: Part of the 10-acre Urban Farm Incubator at Watkins Regional Park in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, a group of three farmers manage half an acre and produce vegetables, fruits, nuts and other herbs.
- Maryland Line Farm: Located in Hazelton, West Virginia, Maryland Line Farm grows and produces vegetables, berries and maple syrup using ecological and regenerative farming methods.
- Dodo Farms: Dodo Farms is owned by husband-and-wife farmers from Nigeria. The Montgomery County, Maryland-based farm, which has expanded from one to more than three acres since 2018, is used to grow a variety of vegetables.
- Chili Hill Farm: Located in Smithfield, Virginia, Chili Hill Farm grows seasonal vegetables and operates a small retail shop selling fresh produce and various Thai foods.
- La Botanica: Operating on less than an acre in Fairfax, Virginia, La Botanica produces naturally grown no-till flowers, Indigo and fresh Puerto Rican produce.
- Love Bug Farm: Love Bug Farm, run by a former restaurant cook turned farmer, grows all of its vegetables using regenerative farming practices on an incubator farm space. Based in Upper Marlboro Maryland, Love Bug Farm grows vegetables for wholesale markets.
“As a business dedicated to supporting its local region, we’re proud to know this money will be used toward increasing the resiliency of farms within our communities,” said Diane Couchman, VP of category management, non-perishables at Giant Food.
“Partnering with our vendors like Tillamook and non-profit organizations such as AFT, allows us to help the hard-working farmers that supply our area with fresh, locally grown produce and flowers.”
AFT’s Brighter Future Fund launched in 2020 through a partnership with Tillamook County Creamery Association, a farmer-owned co-op. The fund was created to help farmers across the country start, grow and sustain farms in the face of challenges, such as COVID-19, severe weather and shifting markets.
“When we helped American Farmland Trust launch the Brighter Future Fund in 2020, we set out to rally fans and businesses to support farmers across the country who are keeping our food supply strong,” said Patrick Criteser, president and CEO of Tillamook County Creamery Association.
“Giant Food has gone above and beyond to keep this important fund thriving by engaging its customers and ensuring that farmers and farmland continue to get the support they deserve.”
For information about the Brighter Future Fund, visit farmland.org/brighter-future.
