Natural Grocers makes giving back easy for shoppers

Family-operated organic and natural grocery retailer Natural Grocers has turned its holiday food bank fundraiser from ho-hum to hooray at its Evergreen, Colo. store.

In November, the Lakewood, Colo.-based grocer, with more than 164 stores in 21 states, launched a chainwide in-store holiday fundraiser for its established food bank partners. The campaign, which runs through Dec. 31, 2022, is in addition to the company's ongoing "Bring Your Own Bag" program, which donates 5 cents per shopping trip to local food bank partners whenever customers bring in their own reusable bags.

Customers can contribute throughout the holidays in two ways:

• Donate $1, $5 or $10 at the register. These funds will go directly to the same food bank that currently receives donations from Natural Grocers through its "Bring Your Own Bag" program.
• Purchase and donate nonperishable Natural Grocers items collected at the front of the store. These donations will go directly to the local food bank partner or local food pantry that currently receives food donations from the company.

But at Thanksgiving, the crew at its Evergreen, Colo. store noticed the program wasn’t as successful as it had hoped.

“They knew that folks were interested and cared about the cause, but by the time they got to the register, they were often in a rush and lamented that they'd forgotten to pick something out while shopping,” said Katie Macarelli, Natural Grocers manager of public relations.

After a bit of brainstorming, the Evergreen crew found a solution.

“They filled baskets at the register with small-dollar items of need to make it really easy for folks to choose something to donate when checking out,” Macarelli said. “That tiny change really made an impact,” she added.

While Evergreen’s local food bank, EChO, typically picks up food and grocery donations on Monday and Thursday, now there are days when the food bank volunteers need to make two trips in one day, Macarelli said.

“This is precisely the type of ‘commitment to community’ that we strive for at Natural Grocers,” she said. “The Evergreen EChO food bank feeds 400 families a month. We are truly honored to be part of that support and can't say enough about the generosity of our customers.”

A "Commitment to Community" is one of Natural Grocers' Five Founding Principles. Since its inception in 1955, the company has developed enduring partnerships with various charities that better the lives of the communities in the 21 states the company serves — including organizations that focus on fighting food insecurity, according to a release.

Natural Grocers says this need is more pressing than ever. For example, in the company's home state of Colorado and neighboring state of Wyoming, the number of individuals estimated to be food insecure in 2021 was 1 in 8. For children, that number was even higher: 1 in 7 in Colorado and 1 in 6 in Wyoming.

Natural Grocers partners with both the Food Bank of the Rockies and the Food Bank of Wyoming, as well as other partners, to help meet the needs of its communities, the company said.

"Sharing a meal with loved ones is something many of us look forward to around the holidays. But the holidays can also magnify food insecurity and financial stress for those struggling financially,” Raquel Isely, vice president of Natural Grocers, said in a release. “The relationships we've developed with local hunger-relief organizations help battle food insecurity year-round, but we wanted to do more this holiday season.”

Visit the Natural Grocers website to learn more about the company’s food bank donations.