WATSONVILLE, CA - Motivated by its philanthropic culture, the owners of California Giant Berry Farms have established the California Giant Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit. The foundation will support local organizations by donating more than $100,000 a year to charitable causes.
“It’s always been in the California Giant Berry Farms DNA to support organizations that are making a difference by educating for change, but formalizing the Foundation shows our passion and commitment to support this movement for many years to come,” said Cindy Jewell, Vice President of Marketing. “The Foundation has given our employees a sense of purpose far beyond providing fresh produce to consumers.”
California Giant Foundation will support the following four pillars, according to a press release:
- Childhood Obesity and School Nutrition – the Foundation’s signature event, Tour de Fresh, will continue to raise funds to put salad bars in schools and increase the demand for food education. Additional organizations that benefit include Santa Cruz Warriors Kids Club, Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools and more.
- Hunger and Food Insecurity – support to local homeless and hunger-based organizations like Food Bank programs and Grind Out Hunger seek to significantly decrease the number of hungry families in the community.
- Prevention and Awareness – national and local support is given to organizations that affect change by educating and increasing awareness about prevalent diseases that affect so many. Organizations that benefit include American Cancer Society, Jacob’s Heart (children battling cancer) and Living Breath Foundation (Cystic Fibrosis), among others.
- Community – support of local health and fitness initiatives that benefit employees of California Giant Berry Farms and their families, including Pajaro Valley Shelter Services, Court Appointed Special Advocates, community sports programs and more.
Tour de Fresh, which is presented by the California Giant Foundation, is a four day cycling and fundraising event taking place this October 19th to the 22nd to benefit the Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools campaign.
“We are honored to be able to give the Tour de Fresh a long-term home and look forward to being a leader in this industry movement that is making a positive difference for childhood nutrition,” said Bill Moncovich, President and CEO of California Giant Berry Farms. “We’re also very excited to set higher goals for this year’s ride that include putting 100 or more salad bars in schools.”
To learn more about last year's event, you can watch the video below:
The inaugural Tour de Fresh event raised over $142,000 in 2014 and placed more than 40 salad bars in communities across 11 states. To learn more about this event, check out our previous story by clicking here.
