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SuperValu finding ways to give back

Adding $2 to your grocery bill can go a long to help Agassiz and Harrison families
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Reyna Pelletier

If you see a SuperValu employee in jeans some day, ask yourself what day it is.

If it's a Friday, then you can bet that employee has tossed a toonie into the casual Friday collection jar. And you can also know that the toonie will eventually end up in the hands of the Agassiz Harrison Community Services Food Bank.

Casual Friday is just one of the fundraising programs at the Agassiz SuperValu, says store manager Norm Sperling.

"But it's not just about wearing jeans," he says.

Cashiers at the till are very familiar with the needs of local residents.

"They see people counting change, and having to put things back," he says.

"Hunger is never going to go away."

Everyone is in need at some point in their life, he says, some for a brief time and others for longer. And having a program at work for employees to help out is a way to bring the community together.

Customers can help, too, buy grabbing one of the bright coloured slips at the till, which adds $2 to the total grocery bill. That $2 goes toward the local food bank, too.

For those who have nothing to give but their hearts, the box at the entry to the store is another way to help.

For every $1,000 worth of receipts collected per charity, SuperValu gives back $20. For much of the year, the receipts collected go toward the AESS Dry Grad Fund. The rest of the year it goes toward the food bank. Community groups such as the Lions, the Legion  and several churches also gather receipts from their members and take them in when the total reaches $1,000.

Sperling would like to see other businesses find ways to give to the food bank, even if it's little by little.

"I think it's a good challenge to put out there," he says.

news@ahobserver.com

 



Jessica Peters

About the Author: Jessica Peters

I began my career in 1999, covering communities across the Fraser Valley ever since.
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