Produce Alliance box program honors health care workers

A program that donates boxes of fresh produce to health care facilities for employees to take home is gaining steam as it enters its third month.

The Produce Alliance Foundation, Chicago, kicked off the program for frontline workers, and for the week of May 11, it has planned the largest drops yet, with 71,000 pounds of produces (3,550 boxes). A donation from Iris and Michael Smith, Kaily Smith Westbrook and Adam Westbrook, according to a news release.

By mid-May, the project will have donated 10,591 boxes to 34 locations in 15 states, with a total of almost 206,000 pounds distributed.

“By teaming up with regional produce distributors around the country, Produce Alliance is getting fresh produce boxes into the hands of frontline workers and vulnerable communities across the country,” according to the release.

Donations during the second week of May went to facilities in Bay Shore, N.Y., Washington, D.C., Rockville, Md., Silver Spring, Md., Mesquite, Texas, Royal Oak, Mich., Orlando, Florida, Baltimore, and St. Louis.

Deliveries in May were made possible by companies that include Produce Alliance distributors Gargiulo Produce, Keany Produce & Gourmet, Premier Produce – Central Florida, Brothers Produce Dallas, Liberty Fruit Co. and LaGrasso Bros. Produce, according to the release.

Donations can be made to the box program at its GoFundMe page. For more information, contact contact tracy@KeyandAssociatesDC.com.

To see what companies are doing during the pandemic to help people, visit The Packer's COVID-19 webpage.

Related stories:

Companies donate, offer new services during pandemic

Game night and wine: companies respond to COVID-19 pandemic

Gifts of guac, safety tunnels: companies help during crisis