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Fighting hunger in its communities propels Sprouts Food Rescue Program, and donating fresh produce is a cornerstone, according to Carlos Rojas, vice president for legal, risk and sustainability at Sprouts Farmers Market in Phoenix, AZ.
In 2017, Sprouts recovered more than 155 million pounds of food and other recy- clables from its waste stream, resulting in an overall diversion rate of 55 percent. At the pinnacle of that food recovery hierarchy, Sprouts donated 23 million pounds of food last year, working in partnership with some 350 hunger relief agencies, he explains.
Developing the Food Rescue Program involved an incredible effort, Rojas says, from getting executives comfortable with the liabilities of donating perishable foods, to setting up guidelines and standard operating procedures for the stores and the entire struc- ture around that.
After a successful pilot in 2013 with St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance, based in Phoenix, AZ, “the response from our team members was overwhelming; they welcomed the idea that they no longer had to deal with one-off programs for food donations, and having a structure in place to make a posi- tive impact on the community. Our store managers, regional directors, vice presi- dents, our executive team, everyone from top down, were ready to get on board, and we said, ‘full steam ahead, let’s start rolling out the program across the chain.’ ”
St. Mary’s Agency Services Director Kelli Shepard gives out produce to one of the more than 40 St. Mary’s Mobile Pantry sites across Arizona made possible from donations by partners like Sprouts.
“When Sprouts came aboard and started their Food Rescue Program, it was a match made in heaven for St. Mary’s Food Bank, because fresh fruits and vegetables were exactly the types of foods we were looking for,” says Jerry Brown, director of public relations. “There’s no way we could have a better partner. Sprouts has really done every- thing in their power to rescue as much food as possible since the partnership began.”
“St. Mary’s Food Bank distributed 86 million pounds of food to our clients last year, and 30 million to 35 million pounds of that was fresh fruits and vegetables, some coming directly from the ground from the border of Nogales and Yuma, but a lot from food rescue, with Sprouts as a leader in that effort.”
Handling perishables items comes with added challenges.
“The time clock is escalated with fresh fruits and vegetables, and product for food rescue is already at the tail end of its life- cycle,” says Brown, emphasizing the impor- tance of maintaining the cold chain from the retailers’ refrigerated space to the refriger- ated truck to the food bank cooler. St. Mary’s is in the middle of a $4.5 million project to expand its refrigerated space to accommo- date. “We send out 40 food trucks every day to pick up at food sites,” adds Brown, noting it collects from 21 Sprouts stores. “This year, we’re on track to rescue 2.5 million pounds of fruits and vegetables from Sprouts, and the number continues to grow each year.”
Fresh produce donations are important.
“Not only do we want to feed people, we want to provide healthy foods, and get fresh fruits and vegetables on the tables of those in need,” says Brown. In addition, “Stores are doing so much better in reducing shrink, and not over-ordering, so there is less food waste, and discount outlets or dollar stores are willing to purchase that food that used to be diverted to food banks, so we are getting less and less donated canned and dry foods,” he says. “St. Mary’s also receives hundreds of thousands of pounds of food from Sprouts during its annual Grab and Give Holiday Food Drive, where customers purchase pre-made bags lled with the food bank’s most needed non-perishable items,” he says.
Community outreach envelopes Sprouts’ sustainability plat- form and is fostered through the Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation, founded in 2015, with a goal to empower people to live healthier lives by providing health education and access to nutrition and healthy food, according to Kalia Pang, senior public relations specialist. At the top of the Foundation’s existing $500,000 commitment, Sprouts partners with REAL School Gardens to develop school nutrition curriculums and build multiple school learning gardens.
As Sprouts enters new markets, it kicks off new learning gardens, with “Big Digs.” In addition to monetary contributions, REAL School Gardens and Sprouts volunteers join with teachers, students and community members to transform empty schoolyards into interactive learning spaces, where children learn about the food cycle and sustainability by growing produce, herbs and ow- erbeds to bene t the school cafeteria and student’s families.
Sprouts CEO Amin Maredia with students at a recent REAL School Gardens Big Dig in Atlanta.
PRODUCE BUSINESS / MAY 2018 / SPROUTS-11
FOOD RESCUE/HUNGER RELIEF. COMMUNITY OUTREACH