Superfresh Growers helps community with 100-plus volunteer hours in 2022

Coming off a year in which its employees provided 117 hours of company-sponsored volunteer time to the community, Yakima, Wash.-based Superfresh Growers is looking to do even more in 2023.

Superfresh Growers set things in motion at the beginning of 2021 when it announced plans to add company-sponsored volunteer hours as an employee benefit and a way to give back to the community, according to a news release. The company also announced its new observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a paid holiday. 

“Just as our employees are encouraged to give back at work-sponsored events, we also want to ensure our teammates and their families have time on this important day to reflect on Dr. King’s legacy, whether they do that through community service, personal reflection or spending time with their families,” CEO Robert Kershaw said in the release.

By the end of 2022, 35 employees from Superfresh Growers and its sister company, DSG Logistics, had volunteered for a total of 117 hours.

“Our company-sponsored volunteer hours are focused around food security, education, military service, health and recreation,” Cat Gipe-Stewart, director of marketing, said in the release. “In 2022 we were proud to partner with Yakima Union Gospel Mission (YUGM), 2nd Harvest and the Yakima Greenway for our volunteer efforts.”

At YUGM, Superfresh Growers served lunches, volunteered Spanish translation services at the free medical clinic, organized medical donations and made 600 sandwiches for the search and rescue team, according to the release.

Superfresh Growers collaborated with the Yakima Greenway on Earth Day to prune blackberry bushes, clean up trash and weed along a pathway. Employees brought their children to make it a family experience, according to the release.

The company says volunteer work is off to a strong start in 2023. 

“We are excited to add a new nonprofit to our volunteering activities, Soldier’s Angels. We started with writing Valentine’s Day cards to veterans and active-duty service members and will support them throughout the year,” Gipe-Stewart said in the release. “We have many veterans on the Superfresh team and are pleased to spread joy to our military heroes.”