APS BRINGS VOLUNTEER POWER TO SUPPORT DIANA GREGORY OUTREACH SERVICES VEGGIES-FOR-VETERANS FOOD DISTRIBUTION EVENT.
Jeff Guldner, CEO of APS, who is also a veteran, was part of the team of APS volunteers.
“I served as a surface warfare officer in the U.S. Navy, and I’m pleased to participate in the food distribution event,” said Goulder. “I couldn’t be prouder of our APS employees for demonstrating the power of volunteerism in putting energy behind Veggies-for-Veterans and improving the quality of life for veterans in need.”
Diana Gregory, CEO of Gregory’s Fresh Market, coordinates sponsors, volunteers and produce vendors to provide thousands of pounds of produce to area seniors and veterans.
“Nearly 25 percent of veterans have diabetes and many more show signs of pre-diabetes,” said Gregory. “Fresh fruits and vegetables are an essential part of any healthy diet. A goal of the program is to help educate veterans about diabetes and the role a healthy diet plays in preventing or controlling diabetes. We are thankful to APS for their help in supporting the cause.”
Held five times a year at the Carl T. Haydens’ VA Medical Center, 650 E. Indian School Rd. in Phoenix, Veggies-for-Veterans brings together community partners to offer healthy food choices for veterans. The goal of the mobile-market event is to help teach veterans how to shop healthy and to encourage them to have healthy choices in their diet.
Gregory’s Fresh Market is a division of Diana Gregory Outreach Services, whose mission is to enrich lives through healthy eating. They provide access to fresh produce for low-income seniors, veterans and vulnerable individuals experiencing health disparities. Their services are focused on holistic health, nutrition and fitness through on-site farmers’ markets and educational programs.
Nonprofit gives back to veterans with donated produce
Michael Welsh and Dr. Isabel Kozak of the Phoenix VA, Jerry Wissink of BHHS Legacy Foundation, Diana Gregory, and two active-duty veterans who volunteered at the Veggies for Veterans event sponsored by BHHS Legacy Foundation and WellCare.
Diana Gregory has a special place in her heart for the veterans and seniors she has come across over the years. That passion is what sparked the creation of her nonprofit, Diana Gregory Outreach Services, and its offshoot, Veggies for Veterans.
“I’ve been helping seniors and vets since I was eight years old,” Gregory said. “I was playing outside one hot July day when I noticed my 85-year-old neighbor struggling to carry her grocery bags. I instantly leaped to her assistance and helped her carry her food up eight flights of stairs to her apartment, as the elevator was broken.”
From that moment on, Gregory vowed to continue helping seniors and vets. After a 30-year career in corporate marketing and sales, she made good on her promise when she established Diana Gregory Outreach Services and Gregory’s Fresh Market.
The charity’s mission is to “restore meaningful food access and eliminate health disparities in under-resourced communities.”
That mission has served thousands of seniors and vets since 2009. In 2017, Gregory founded Veggies for Veterans – a mobile farmers market that brings fresh fruit and produce to senior centers and the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care System.
“We’d already been serving transitional veterans when we were invited to bring our farmer’s market to Victory Place – a temporary housing community for homeless vets – four years ago,” Gregory said. “Over those four years, we’ve served almost 10,000 veterans.”
Before the pandemic, Veggies for Veterans visited Victory Place once a month and gave every veteran a $10 voucher to purchase fruits and veggies.
Gregory explained that offering the vouchers encouraged the veterans to venture out of their comfort zones, leave their apartments, get nutritious food and interact with others.
“The program is about socialization versus isolation and allows us to teach them about healthy eating,” she said.
Veggies for Veterans’ successful work at Victory Place led to an invitation to visit the Phoenix VA to duplicate the vouchers. The program serves a minimum of 500 veterans, and last year it pivoted to a delivery system using prepackaged bags of fruits and vegetables.
“Everyone at Victory House and the VA Hospital loves the program,” Gregory said. “To enrich lives through healthy eating is our mission statement, and what a wonderful way to honor vets.”
Gregory said volunteers are the backbone of the organization, and they couldn’t do their valuable work without the support of their sponsors and suppliers. However, since food needs have far exceeded what they can buy and receive in donations, they established a small, local farm in 2019 to grow pesticide-free produce.
The farm, located at Spaces of Opportunity community gardens in south Phoenix, grows broccoli, beets, cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant, collard greens, kale, corn, and more.
Veggies for veterans: Phoenix market partners with VA to donate produce
Read More
March 28, 2021
Arizona Health & Living
CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH | MEET DIANA GREGORY
MEET DIANA GREGORY
In 2009, she began her encore career in Phoenix, AZ by founding the Diana Gregory Outreach Services Foundation (DGOSF) and Gregory’s Fresh Market (GFM), a 501 (c)(3) division of the Foundation. She positioned her expertise alongside her vision to drive positive, long-lasting change in the community and raise social awareness. And she has done just that by bringing her farmer’s market along with healthy cooking, nutrition, and fitness education to senior and veteran’s facilities in Maricopa County. Diana Gregory has been making a difference—by being her authentic self and by making strategic alliances in the community to give back to the community.
Throughout her corporate career and in her many years as a Phoenix resident, she has served on several boards, including Desert Botanical Garden, that advocate for minority opportunities and women; and her work on behalf of seniors has often been recognized. Every day she lives what her parents taught her: That it is not where you live, but what lives in you that determines where you will end up in life; and, second, to always live by an attitude of gratitude.
WHAT DOES BLACK HISTORY MONTH MEAN TO YOU?
Black History Month celebrates contributions African Americans have made to American culture and history as well as to offer time to reflect on the continued struggle for racial justice.
As the niece of the late Dick Gregory—comedian, social rights activist and icon—I learned through his work that you can be educated but not know much about your history. That is why Black History Month is needed—and why 365 days out of the year is Black History Month for me because our American history lessons skip over many African American achievers.
Much history is recorded at the National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Plan a trip to this extraordinary museum.
TELL US WHY YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT HORTICULTURE, BOTANY AND WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY?
I encountered a defining moment after helping my neighbor haul her bags of groceries up eight flights of stairs when no one else volunteered to help. I made a vow right then and there—at eight years old—to help seniors during my encore career. Everyone should be committed to a cause greater than themselves.
I developed a passion for gardening through watching my father grow fruits and vegetables that he juiced daily. His juicing helped him overcome prostate and colon cancer.
WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF, OF THE WORK YOU ARE DOING AT SPACES OF OPPORTUNITY?
I am most proud of the nutritious food Gregory’s Fresh Market grows at Spaces to feed hundreds of seniors and veterans. This food boosts their immune system and combats food insecurity. Our purpose for growing is to ensure no vulnerable senior or veteran goes to bed hungry.
HOW DOES SPACES POSITIVELY IMPACT THE PHOENIX COMMUNITY?
Spaces has transformed an 18-acre vacant lot into a beautiful garden. This garden has prevented the illegal dumping of trash. It promotes sustainable agriculture, decreases the impact of food deserts in low-income communities, and provides cultural events and farmers’ markets for families. What a blessing!
USA Today Modern Woman Magazine
Nonprofit gives back to veterans with donated produce
Michael Welsh and Dr. Isabel Kozak of the Phoenix VA, Jerry Wissink of BHHS Legacy Foundation, Diana Gregory, and two active-duty veterans who volunteered at the Veggies for Veterans event sponsored by BHHS Legacy Foundation and WellCare.
Diana Gregory has a special place in her heart for the veterans and seniors she has come across over the years. That passion is what sparked the creation of her nonprofit, Diana Gregory Outreach Services, and its offshoot, Veggies for Veterans.
“I’ve been helping seniors and vets since I was eight years old,” Gregory said. “I was playing outside one hot July day when I noticed my 85-year-old neighbor struggling to carry her grocery bags. I instantly leaped to her assistance and helped her carry her food up eight flights of stairs to her apartment, as the elevator was broken.”
From that moment on, Gregory vowed to continue helping seniors and vets. After a 30-year career in corporate marketing and sales, she made good on her promise when she established Diana Gregory Outreach Services and Gregory’s Fresh Market.
The charity’s mission is to “restore meaningful food access and eliminate health disparities in under-resourced communities.”
That mission has served thousands of seniors and vets since 2009. In 2017, Gregory founded Veggies for Veterans – a mobile farmers market that brings fresh fruit and produce to senior centers and the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care System.
“We’d already been serving transitional veterans when we were invited to bring our farmer’s market to Victory Place – a temporary housing community for homeless vets – four years ago,” Gregory said. “Over those four years, we’ve served almost 10,000 veterans.”
Before the pandemic, Veggies for Veterans visited Victory Place once a month and gave every veteran a $10 voucher to purchase fruits and veggies.
Gregory explained that offering the vouchers encouraged the veterans to venture out of their comfort zones, leave their apartments, get nutritious food and interact with others.
“The program is about socialization versus isolation and allows us to teach them about healthy eating,” she said.
Veggies for Veterans’ successful work at Victory Place led to an invitation to visit the Phoenix VA to duplicate the vouchers. The program serves a minimum of 500 veterans, and last year it pivoted to a delivery system using prepackaged bags of fruits and vegetables.
“Everyone at Victory House and the VA Hospital loves the program,” Gregory said. “To enrich lives through healthy eating is our mission statement, and what a wonderful way to honor vets.”
Gregory said volunteers are the backbone of the organization, and they couldn’t do their valuable work without the support of their sponsors and suppliers. However, since food needs have far exceeded what they can buy and receive in donations, they established a small, local farm in 2019 to grow pesticide-free produce.
The farm, located at Spaces of Opportunity community gardens in south Phoenix, grows broccoli, beets, cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant, collard greens, kale, corn, and more.
Veggies for veterans: Phoenix market partners with VA to donate produce
Read More
March 28, 2021
Arizona Health & Living
CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH | MEET DIANA GREGORY
MEET DIANA GREGORY
In 2009, she began her encore career in Phoenix, AZ by founding the Diana Gregory Outreach Services Foundation (DGOSF) and Gregory’s Fresh Market (GFM), a 501 (c)(3) division of the Foundation. She positioned her expertise alongside her vision to drive positive, long-lasting change in the community and raise social awareness. And she has done just that by bringing her farmer’s market along with healthy cooking, nutrition, and fitness education to senior and veteran’s facilities in Maricopa County. Diana Gregory has been making a difference—by being her authentic self and by making strategic alliances in the community to give back to the community.
Throughout her corporate career and in her many years as a Phoenix resident, she has served on several boards, including Desert Botanical Garden, that advocate for minority opportunities and women; and her work on behalf of seniors has often been recognized. Every day she lives what her parents taught her: That it is not where you live, but what lives in you that determines where you will end up in life; and, second, to always live by an attitude of gratitude.
WHAT DOES BLACK HISTORY MONTH MEAN TO YOU?
Black History Month celebrates contributions African Americans have made to American culture and history as well as to offer time to reflect on the continued struggle for racial justice.
As the niece of the late Dick Gregory—comedian, social rights activist and icon—I learned through his work that you can be educated but not know much about your history. That is why Black History Month is needed—and why 365 days out of the year is Black History Month for me because our American history lessons skip over many African American achievers.
Much history is recorded at the National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Plan a trip to this extraordinary museum.
TELL US WHY YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT HORTICULTURE, BOTANY AND WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY?
I encountered a defining moment after helping my neighbor haul her bags of groceries up eight flights of stairs when no one else volunteered to help. I made a vow right then and there—at eight years old—to help seniors during my encore career. Everyone should be committed to a cause greater than themselves.
I developed a passion for gardening through watching my father grow fruits and vegetables that he juiced daily. His juicing helped him overcome prostate and colon cancer.
WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF, OF THE WORK YOU ARE DOING AT SPACES OF OPPORTUNITY?
I am most proud of the nutritious food Gregory’s Fresh Market grows at Spaces to feed hundreds of seniors and veterans. This food boosts their immune system and combats food insecurity. Our purpose for growing is to ensure no vulnerable senior or veteran goes to bed hungry.
HOW DOES SPACES POSITIVELY IMPACT THE PHOENIX COMMUNITY?
Spaces has transformed an 18-acre vacant lot into a beautiful garden. This garden has prevented the illegal dumping of trash. It promotes sustainable agriculture, decreases the impact of food deserts in low-income communities, and provides cultural events and farmers’ markets for families. What a blessing!
USA Today Modern Woman Magazine
From the Phoenix Business Journal
News Article
Arizona Informant March 8, 2017
News Article
Arizona Informant January 11, 2017,
News Article
Arizona Informant October 2016,
5th Annual Senior Awards
AZ Informant Sept. 21, 2016
News Article
Arizona Informant February 2016, Pioneer Award
Arizona Informant December 30, 2015, Gregory’s Fresh Market Holiday Program
Arizona Informant October 7, 2015-Gregory’s Fresh Market Fourth Annual Senior Awards
Arizona Informant March 5, 2015, National Association of Blacks In Criminal Justice Selects GregoryFresh Market As Beneficiary of Empty Plate Project.
Arizona Informant January 7, 2015
Phoenix Business Journal, Oct 3, 2014 Viewpoint: Inspirational seniors give others reason to stay active
Arizona Informant Online Sept. 30, 2014 Annual Senior Awards Program Filled With Inspiring Moments
Arizona Informant Sept. 10, 2014 “Zone In”
Phoenix Business Blog: Meet Phoenix’s 2013 Diversity Champions
Phoenix non-profit defies the odds and celebrates 15 years
Press Release
WALGREENS LAUNCHES SENIOR HEALTH & WELLNESS SERIES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH GREGORY’S FRESH MARKET PLACE
News Articles
Oct. 26, 2012 Inaugural Awards Luncheon
Local Resident Providing Fresh Produce for Seniors
| August 2012 |
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Gregory’s Fresh Market Outreaches To Henson Seniors, May 20, 2012
Retired Phoenix executive goes from being “Beer Lady” to “Produce Lady” May 5, 2012
| Gregory’s Fresh Market Place and Majerle’s Grill team up. December 2011 |
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Gregory’s Fresh Market Nutrition for the holiday December 2011 |
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