Giant Food partners with local artists on community bag program

Giant Food, the greater Washington, D.C. regional grocery chain, has teamed up with four artists from D.C., Maryland, Virginia and Delaware, to create reusable bags that represent each artist's local community. As part of Giant's Community Bag Program, for every $2.75 reusable bag purchased, Giant donates $1 donated to a local nonprofit. Throughout the month of May, each of the artists chose a local nonprofit to receive the donations.

"With the help of our customers, we've achieved significant accomplishments through our Community Bag Program, including saving over 585,000 single plastic bags and helping over 1,700 non-profit organizations last year alone," said Felis Andrade, director external communications and community relations of Giant Food. "We're excited to spotlight local artists whose creative designs celebrate the core of Maryland, D.C., Virginia and Delaware while also supporting the local charities that mean the most to them."

In 2019, Giant Food launched its Community Bag Program, which is designed to empower customers to support local nonprofit organizations while working to reduce single-use paper and plastic waste in the environment. To date, Giant and its customers have raised over $580,000 and provided 684,990 meals to 1,748 different non-profit organizations and 405 hunger organizations through the program.

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This month, D.C., Maryland, Virginia and Delaware stores will each carry their very own reusable bags created by their state's local artist. The artists and their chosen benefiting nonprofits include:

• Marcella Kriebel: Marcella is a watercolorist, muralist and the author and illustrator of two cookbooks, "Mi Comida Latino" and "Comida Cubana." She is known for her vibrant artwork that celebrates the world through food and culture. Marcella designed the D.C. bag which will benefit the D.C. Central Kitchen. 
• Ann Gill: Ann is a local artist based in Hyattsville, Md. Born in Washington, D.C., her family roots run deep in the region. She has been creating art since she was a child, and her work is influenced by street pop art. Ann designed the Maryland bag with proceeds benefiting Words, Beats and Life.
• Grace Manno and Dashiell Kirk: Grace and Dashiell are two artists who formed FOND Collective based in Richmond, Va. Some of their favorite mediums include illustration, print design, animation and sculpture. Together, Grace and Dashiell designed the Virginia bag and chose Our Stomping Ground as the benefiting organization.

[Read more: Giant Food releases annual Better Neighbor report]

• Brad Almond: Brad is a graphic designer, illustrator and part-time musician. He resides in Wilmington, Del. with his wife, two children and their cat. Brad grew up fascinated by the colorful, stylized worlds of film, video games and cartoon shows. He designed the Delaware bag and chose Urban Promise Wilmington as the benefiting organization.

Customers can purchase their Local Artist Community Bag at any Giant store. 

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