Parker Farms proud to give back to community
Parker Farms has been giving back to the community for nearly half a century. The idea of Zero Waste has been part of the Parker business philosophy since its founding in 1974. Through food bank donations and gleaning events Parker goes to great lengths to assure that no food goes to waste.
Today, Parker is proud to work closely with Healthy Harvest, the Northern Neck of Virginia Food Bank and is happy to be its single largest supplier of fresh produce. The hundreds of thousands of pounds of vegetables donated by Parker Farms has helped Healthy Harvest meet its goal of providing local families in need with a nutritious variety of vegetables every week.
Working with local churches and food banks, Parker also enables volunteers to glean unharvested produce from its fields. Most of this perfectly good gleaned product finds its way to food distribution centers in their community. Aside from the food gleaned, the lessons young people learn as they voluntarily toil in the fields working to provide food for those in need is unmeasurable. The spirit of sacrifice and giving is fostered and encouraged.
Parker Farms is looking for ways to work with other food banks and charitable organizations such as the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank which services and additional six counties in northern and central Virginia with hundreds of thousands of meals a year.
With the number of Americans needing help with growing, Parker feels it’s part of its mission to help meet the needs of those facing food insecurity and is working to live up to its responsibility.
