Dec. 22, 2017, Leamington, Ont. – While the holiday season brings joy and happiness to many, it can be a time of hardship for many families. The holiday season tends to be a time for reflection, when many people take time to lend a helping hand to those in need.
Under the company ethos of growing both produce & people, NatureFresh™ Farms has put a focus on giving back to those in the community who are well deserving of holiday cheer.
Throughout the month of December, individuals could nominate a family living within a 50-mile radius of Fulton County, Ohio, that was deserving of a little help this holiday season. Many families nominated were going through a hard time or were individuals who dedicated their lives to making a positive impact on the community.
NatureFresh™ Farms had originally intended to select five of these families to receive a $500 Walmart gift card and baskets full of nutritious food, including all the ingredients to make a turkey dinner. From the moment the giveaway opened up for nominations, the response was overwhelming.
With over 250 heartwarming and heartbreaking stories being submitted, Peter Quiring, the Owner & CEO, decided to increase the initiative to ten families.
“The stories of these families really leave you inspired. Despite going through heartbreaking times, many of them continue to smile and help others where they can. After delivering a package to one family, we received a text message letting us know they would be sharing the food with another less fortunate family they knew,” said Quiring. “The spirit of the season is evident and we are looking forward to doing more.”
NatureFresh Farms is very fortunate to be actively involved in two remarkable communities from both Canada and the United States, each with their own areas of need.
LEAMINGTON FOOD BASKETS PROGRAM
This past December, NatureFresh™ Farms lent out a portion of their warehouse to the Leamington Goodfellows. With the Leamington District High School raising over 56,000 food items, this space allowed the volunteer team to store the donations and have room to compile over 800 food baskets for those in need.
Now in their 39th year, the Leamington Goodfellows consists of a handful of the original members, many retired teachers and high school students from within the community.
“It is an amazing organization to be a part of; my father has been a part of this organization since the onset and I have been helping deliver the baskets for 25 years.” said Dave Hildebrandt, chief financial officer at NatureFresh Farms. “It feels even more impactful this year knowing that NatureFresh could assist in providing the volunteers with space to organize the initiative.”
Although getting out into the community and making a difference is very important to NatureFresh Farms and its employees, the company works hard to ensure that joy and some laughs are part of the holiday season in the office and at the farm. NatureFresh Farms’ very own elf on the shelf, Frankie Fresh, has been making his rounds daily.
Frankie’s favourite things to do is surprise team members with special gifts, leave selfies in the least expecting places and make hilarious surprise appearances via technology.
Frankie has a talent for surprising the right person just when they needed a smile! Check it out at NatureFresh.ca/FrankieFresh.
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