Sprouts Farmers Market will open the doors to its newest location, in Dresher, Pennsylvania, on September 30, 2020. Since the area’s first location opened in Philadelphia, in 2018, the Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation has sought out meaningful partnerships to support food access and urban gardening programs across the city.
Through an ongoing partnership with Neighborhood Gardens Trust, the Foundation has contributed nearly $50,000 since 2018 to protect urban green spaces in Philadelphia, helping to enhance access to fresh produce and to provide opportunities for outdoor recreation. This includes $32,000 donated toward the restoration of the Concert Garden, a historic community park located just minutes from the downtown Sprouts store. Other area partners, like Urban Tree Connection and Vetri Community Partnership, deliver hands-on gardening and culinary training, helping to teach kids and teens the importance eating healthy food.
For the newest Sprouts Farmers Market, in the Philadelphia suburb of Dresher, the Foundation will continue supporting similar efforts through its partnership with Pennypack Farm and Education Center. This 13-acre farm, located 1.5 miles from the store, offers a variety of nutrition education programming, a youth apprenticeship opportunity, and an Edible Classroom where kids and parents can sample produce grown on the land. Additionally, they run a year-round Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program and donate the farm’s surplus to local food banks.
Pennypack Farm’s Executive Director, Julie McCabe, states that their “primary goal is to enrich the community in which we serve, supplying people with the fresh food that they need to lead healthy lives, and providing education opportunities which foster a connection to the environment and land where their food is grown.”
The Foundation will donate $5,000 to Pennypack Farm as part of the store’s grand opening. McCabe reflected on what this donation will mean to Pennypack Farm and to the larger community, noting that “This year, the food pantries we serve have reported seeing a surge in clients due to COVID19-related layoffs, and other struggles that families are facing. With an investment of $5,000 from the Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation, we’ll be able to strengthen our commitment to help reduce hunger and food insecurity through our fresh produce donation program to hunger relief partners, as we fortify our mission to be a strong CSA farm, a community partner, and agricultural educator.”
The Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation is excited for this partnership and looks forward to supporting the great programs made possible at Pennypack Farm.
