PHOENIX, Ariz. – Apr. 2, 2018 – The Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation will make a $25,000 donation to REAL School Gardens to support the organization’s expansion and new learning garden in Charlotte, N.C. The garden will help elementary students learn the complete food cycle - from seed, to edible plant, and back to the earth through composting - just in time for Earth Day.
REAL School Gardens and Sprouts volunteers will build a new learning garden in Charlotte at Tuckaseegee Elementary School during a “Big Dig” on April 10. Together, teachers, volunteers and community members will transform an empty schoolyard into an interactive learning space designed to boost academics with experiential outdoor lessons.
The garden will help students learn about the food cycle and sustainability by growing produce, herbs and flowerbeds to benefit the school cafeteria and students’ families. Since 2015, support from the Foundation has enabled REAL School Gardens to build 13 learning gardens across the country, expand to three new regions, including North Carolina, and develop a multi-subject curriculum to teach science, math and language arts using food and nutrition topics. Sprouts’ garden build is on top of the Foundation’s existing $500,000 commitment to supporting youth nutrition education and school garden builds underway at REAL School Gardens.
Record-Breaking 2017 Sustainability Results
Sprouts is dedicated to operating in a way that is good for the environment and its communities. In 2017, the company reached a 55 percent food waste diversion rate by repurposing food that would otherwise be sent to landfills to be used as meals by food bank partners, feed for cattle farms and field-enriching compost by farmers.
Highlights from 2017 include:
- 23 million pounds of food donated to 350 hunger relief agencies, equivalent to 19 million meals
- 25 million pounds of food waste turned into animal feed to benefit 36 cattle farms in the U.S.
- 5 million pounds of food waste composted to enrich soils and complete the farming circle
To learn more about the impact of sustainability programs at Sprouts, visit sfmaboutprod.wpengine.com/sustainability.
About Sprouts Farmers Market
Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. specializes in fresh, natural and organic products at prices that appeal to everyday grocery shoppers. Based on the belief that healthy food should be affordable, Sprouts’ welcoming environment and knowledgeable team members continue to drive its growth. Sprouts offers a complete shopping experience that includes an array of fresh produce in the heart of the store, a deli with prepared entrees and side dishes, The Butcher Shop and The Fish Market at Sprouts, an expansive vitamins and supplements department and more. Headquartered in Phoenix, Ariz., Sprouts employs more than 27,000 team members and operates nearly 300 stores in 15 states from coast to coast. Visit sfmaboutprod.wpengine.com for more information.
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