Giant Food Supports Local Farmers with $100,370 Donation to the American Farmland Trust's Brighter Future Fund

LANDOVER, Md., May 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Giant Food, the leading greater Washington, D.C. regional grocery chain, today announces a donation of $100,370 that will support local farmers located throughout the greater Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia region through a partnership with the American Farmland Trust's (AFT) Brighter Future Fund.

From April 7 through April 27 of 2023, Giant customers were given the option to round up their grocery purchases to the nearest dollar at checkout to contribute to the funding. 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 to help farmers. 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 of 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, Vice President 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 (TCCA), a farmer-owned co-op with one of the fastest growing dairy brands (Tillamook) in the country. The Fund was created to help farmers across the country start, grow and sustain farms in the face of challenges, including COVID-19, severe weather and shifting markets. This year, Giant Food was among the list of proud partners across the country dedicated to supporting the future of farming.

"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 & 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."

"With the help of partners like Giant and their shoppers, the Brighter Future Fund offered grants to more than 120 farmers nationwide this year, said David Haight, Vice President of Programs at American Farmland Trust. "These grants will help underserved farmers implement projects that increase farm viability and resilience – from growing their farming operations, to installing new fencing and irrigation systems, and purchasing needed equipment."

For more information on Giant Food, visit giantfood.com/community. For information about the Brighter Future Fund visit farmland.org/brighter-future. For information about TCCA's All For Farmer's Coalition supporting the Brighter Future Fund visit Tillamook.com/all-for-farmers.

ABOUT GIANT FOOD
Since opening its first location 87 years ago in Washington, D.C. in 1936, Giant has been an integral part of the communities and customers it serves. Giant is committed to being a Better Neighbor and has designated four main giving pillars that address local Food Insecurity, Military Support, Pediatric Cancer Research and Social Equality. Giant is headquartered in Landover, Md. and operates 165 supermarkets in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia with approximately 20,000 associates. Included within the 165 stores are 153 full-service pharmacies and 27 Starbucks locations. Giant fits all the ways today's busy customers want to shop - whether in store or online. With 162 Giant Pickup locations and Giant Delivers available in all of its markets, customers have even more convenient options right at their fingertips to get the best products and prices, whenever and however they choose. For more information on Giant, visit: www.giantfood.com.

ABOUT AMERICAN FARMLAND TRUST
American Farmland Trust is the only national organization that takes a holistic approach to agriculture, focusing on the land itself, the agricultural practices used on that land, and the farmers and ranchers who do the work. AFT launched the conservation agriculture movement and continues to raise public awareness through our No Farms, No Food message. Since our founding in 1980, AFT has helped permanently protect over 6.8 million acres of agricultural lands, advanced environmentally-sound farming practices on millions of additional acres and supported thousands of farm families.

About Tillamook County Creamery Association
Founded in 1909 as a farmer-owned cooperative, Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA) recently achieved the distinction as a Certified B Corporation^® (B Corp™) and prides itself on its commitment to bringing to market the most consistent, best tasting and highest quality dairy products made in the most natural way possible. Guided by the belief that everyone deserves real food that makes them feel good every day, Tillamook^® produces internationally recognized, award-winning cheese as well as exceptional ice cream, butter, cream cheese spreads, yogurt and sour cream, made with unwavering values that never sacrifice or compromise quality for profit. TCCA is owned by a group of farming families, primarily based in Tillamook County, Oregon. TCCA operates production facilities in Tillamook and Boardman, Oregon and employs more than 900 people throughout the state. The Tillamook Creamery is the largest tourist attraction on the coast of Oregon and one of the most popular in the state, attracting more than one million visitors each year. For more information on TCCA and Tillamook, visit Tillamook.com.

SOURCE Giant Food