Holiday Food Drive for Seniors Expands by 50%
Gregory’s Fresh Market (GFM), a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to improving the nutritional health and well-being of seniors, hosted its third annual holiday food program for seniors at 15 locations in the Greater Phoenix Area from November 11 to December 23. For the third consecutive year, the organization announced another milestone in its nutritional food giveaway program for seniors.
“We’re very grateful to ONECare by Care1st Health Plan of Arizona for their support as presenting sponsor for the GFM seniors holiday food drive program,” said Diana Gregory, president of Gregory’s Fresh Market. “They started by sponsoring our annual Senior Awards luncheon in October, which raised funds that allowed us to expand the food program this year to 15 locations. As a result, we delivered packages of fresh fruits and vegetables to 1,200 seniors, a 50% increase over last year.”
Studies conducted by the Food and Drug Administration and other health care organizations document the nutritional benefits of eating recommended daily amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables. Beneficiaries of the GFM food drive program received packages filled with zucchini squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, oranges, apples, bananas, bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, and other items. Many senior citizens are nutritionally at risk because they don’t consume enough fresh produce.
In addition to ONECare, other sponsors who supported the annual GFM Awards Luncheon and holiday food program include Walgreens, Southwest Gas Corporation, Southwest Airlines, Cox Communications, Majerle’s Sports Grill, Girl Scouts, ArizonaCactus-Pine, SRP African American Cultural Committee, and the Arizona Informant.
“We thank all of our sponsors and individual supporters, who so generously partner with us to expand healthy eating options to more seniors in the Greater Phoenix area,” said Ms. Gregory.