Giant Food supports local farmers with $100,370 donation

Giant Food is donating $100,370 to support local farmers located throughout the greater Wash., D.C., Maryland and Virginia region through a partnership with the American Farmland Trust's Brighter Future Fund.

From April 7-27, 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.

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Giant's donation will support local farmers throughout the region with grants of 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, Md., a group of three farmers manage half of an acre and produce vegetables, fruits, nuts and other herbs;
• Maryland Line Farm: Located in Hazelton, W. Va., 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, Md.-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, Va., 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, Va., La Botanica produces naturally grown no-till flowers, Indigo and fresh Puerto Rican produce; and
• 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, Md., Love Bug Farm grows vegetables for wholesale markets.

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"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 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 with one of the country's fastest-growing dairy brands (Tillamook). 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 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."

"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."