Hy-Vee Awards $156,000 to Fund One Step Community Gardens

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June 2, 2017 | News & Press Releases

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sales of One Step Russet Potatoes provide grants for 156 community gardens across Midwest

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (June 2, 2017) — Hy-Vee, Inc. recently awarded 156 One Step Garden Grants totaling $156,000 to community organizations and Hy-Vee stores as part of the Hy-Vee One Step program.

The $1,000 grants will be used to purchase seeds, plants, garden tools and food preservation equipment for community gardens. One Step Garden Grants are given to community gardens that teach those in need about health and nutrition through the process of planting, tending and harvesting their own fruits and vegetables.

Hy-Vee’s One Step program uses a portion of the proceeds from the sale of earth-friendly, everyday products to benefit local and worldwide charitable causes. The products include a 5-pound bag of russet potatoes, shredded wheat cereal, paper towels, facial tissue, bath tissue, napkins and bottled water. Sales of One Step Russet Potatoes fund the One Step Garden Grants; for each bag a customer purchases, 5 cents goes toward funding the community garden grants.

“At Hy-Vee, we take pride in giving back to our communities,” said Brad Waller, Hy-Vee’s assistant vice president of community relations. “With health and wellness being a major emphasis of our business, we believe funding gardens is a great way to educate our communities about healthy eating and growing their own produce. These One Step Garden Grants allow us to strengthen our commitment to improving the lives of those in need.”

Community groups and organizations applied online for the grants, and their applications were judged based on demonstrated participation of community stakeholders; consideration of challenges that come with maintaining a community garden; the integration of the garden into the community; and intended use of the garden’s produce.

With this year’s recipients included, Hy-Vee has awarded 740 garden grants since 2013. Overall, the One Step program has donated more than $1.3 million in product sales since its inception in 2011.

The grants were awarded as follows:

Iowa

Bettendorf Middle School Field of Greens South Hill Neighborhood Association Carroll Hy-Vee Tanager Place Matthew 25 Archer Daniels Midland Mount Vernon Hy-Vee Edgewood Road Hy-Vee Oakland Road Hy-Vee Johnson Avenue Hy-Vee Drugstore Metro Catholic Outreach Cedar Rapids Jefferson High School BlendED Academy Xavier High School Terracon Consultants Inc. Millhiser Smith Foundation Kenwood Elementary School Garden Oakland Church of the Nazarene Prairie Ridge Foundation 2 Jackson Elementary School Harding Middle School Grant Wood AEA Jane Boyd Community House Andrews Christian Academy Wellington Heights Neighborhood Association Grant Wood Elementary School Coe College Community Garden Catherine McAuley Center Arthur Elementary School Cedar Rapids YMCA (Camp Wapsie) Chariton Hy-Vee Charles City Hy-Vee Clinton Hy-Vee Coralville Community Food Pantry CHI Hospital Hy-Vee on West Broadway Scott County Family YMCA Amos Hiatt Middle School Des Moines Public Library Fleur Drive Hy-Vee and Fitness Center South Suburban YMCA Easter Seals of Iowa Dubuque Rescue Mission Dubuque Arboretum Children’s Garden Eleanor Roosevelt Middle School Fairfield Hy-Vee Hiawatha Elementary School Grow: Johnson County The Arc of Southeast Iowa South East Junior High School Iowa City Parks and Recreation Backyard Abundance City High School 4Cs Home Ties Child Care Center Keokuk Hy-Vee Van Buren County Hospital Lamoni Community Food Coalition Wilkins PTO Franklin Elementary School Marshalltown Hy-Vee and Anson School Woodbury Elementary School St. Francis Catholic School Roger’s Elementary School Garden Project Ringgold County Wellness Coalition The Community Basket Muscatine Mainstreet Hy-Vee Newton Hy-Vee North Liberty Community Library New Hope Community Inc. United Way of Wapello County Sieda Community Action Seeds of Hope Program New Opportunities Sheldon Hy-Vee Riverside Lutheran/New Hope Community Church Living Treasures Iowa State University Extension – Woodbury County Orange Elementary School Dr. Walter Cunningham School for Excellence University Hy-Vee Crossroads Hy-Vee Waukee Hy-Vee The Homestead 1839 Bridges of Iowa Mills Civic Parkway Hy-Vee and Youth Justice Initiative Telligen Inc.

Bettendorf, IA Burlington, IA Carroll, IA Cedar Rapids, IA Cedar Rapids, IA Cedar Rapids, IA Cedar Rapids, IA Cedar Rapids, IA Cedar Rapids, IA Cedar Rapids, IA Cedar Rapids, IA Cedar Rapids, IA Cedar Rapids, IA Cedar Rapids, IA Cedar Rapids, IA Cedar Rapids, IA Cedar Rapids, IA Cedar Rapids, IA Cedar Rapids, IA Cedar Rapids, IA Cedar Rapids, IA Cedar Rapids, IA Cedar Rapids, IA Cedar Rapids, IA Cedar Rapids, IA Cedar Rapids, IA Cedar Rapids, IA Cedar Rapids, IA Cedar Rapids, IA Cedar Rapids, IA Chariton, IA Charles City, IA Clinton, IA Coralville, IA Corning, IA Council Bluffs, IA Davenport, IA Des Moines, IA Des Moines, IA Des Moines, IA Des Moines, IA Des Moines, IA Dubuque, IA Dubuque, IA Dubuque, IA Fairfield, IA Hiawatha, IA Iowa City, IA Iowa City, IA Iowa City, IA Iowa City, IA Iowa City, IA Iowa City, IA Iowa City, IA Keokuk, IA Keosauqua, IA Lamoni, IA Marion, IA Marshalltown, IA Marshalltown, IA Marshalltown, IA Marshalltown, IA Marshalltown, IA Mount Ayr, IA Moville, IA Muscatine, IA Newton, IA North Liberty, IA Oskaloosa, IA Ottumwa, IA Ottumwa, IA Perry, IA Sheldon, IA Sioux City, IA Sioux City, IA Sioux City, IA Waterloo, IA Waterloo, IA Waterloo, IA Waterloo, IA Waukee, IA West Burlington, IA West Des Moines, IA West Des Moines, IA West Des Moines, IA

Illinois

Bloomington Hy-Vee Carl Sandburg Community Garden Knox County Housing Authority (2 gardens) University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners of McDonough County Milan Hy-Vee Hy-Vee on Avenue of the Cities John Deere Road Hy-Vee Hy-Vee on Harrison Street St. John’s Anglican Parish Rock Island Hy-Vee and Augustana College Sherrard Tiger Patch Community Garden Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Illinois Generation Healthy Kids Franklin Middle School Iles School Butler Elementary School Hazel Dell Elementary School North Elementary School

Bloomington, IL Galesburg, IL Galesburg, IL Macomb, IL Milan, IL Moline, IL Moline, IL Quincy, IL Quincy, IL Rock Island, IL Sherrard, IL Springfield, IL Springfield, IL Springfield, IL Springfield, IL Springfield, IL Springfield, IL Springfield, IL

Kansas

University of Kansas Medical Center Southwest Middle School Garden Project Prairie Park Elementary School South Middle School Garden CCC Lone Elm Community Garden

Kansas City, KS Lawrence, KS Lawrence, KS Lawrence, KS Olathe, KS

Minnesota

Austin Hy-Vee Center for Earth Spirituality and Rural Ministry Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota New Hope Hy-Vee Guardian Angels Food Shelf Garden Owatonna Hy-Vee Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church Gage Elementary School Parish of Saints Joachim & Anne Two Harbors Area Food Shelf – Marek Fuller Community Garden Goodview Trinity Lutheran

Austin, MN Mankato, MN Mankato, MN New Hope, MN Oakdale, MN Owatonna, MN Prior Lake, MN Rochester, MN Shakopee, MN Two Harbors, MN Winona, MN

Missouri

Harrison County Health Department Pass the Taters Community Gardening Project North Missouri Center for Youth & Families Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture (CCUA) Noland Road Hy-Vee Thomas Jefferson Middle School Jefferson City Public Schools Unto Life Farm Developing Potential Liberty High School Osage Upper Elementary School Raytown Emergency Assistance Program (REAP) Missouri Ozarks Community Action Second Harvest Community Food Bank

Bethany, MO Chillicothe, MO Chillicothe, MO Columbia, MO Independence, MO Jefferson City, MO Jefferson City, MO Kansas City, MO Lee’s Summit, MO Liberty, MO Osage Beach, MO Raytown, MO Richland, MO Saint Joseph, MO

Nebraska

1C A Mission Church Voices for Food Kearney Family YMCA Lewiston FFA Community Crops Northern Lights Hy-Vee NeighborWorks Lincoln Eastridge Elementary School Friends of Extension & 4-H Douglas/Sarpy County Foundation St. Bernard’s Child Care/School House of Montessori Omaha Permaculture Lutheran Family Services Palmyra FFA Chase’s Child Care Corner Ralston Public Schools

Columbus, NE Dakota City, NE Kearney, NE Lewiston, NE Lincoln, NE Lincoln, NE Lincoln, NE Lincoln, NE Omaha, NE Omaha, NE Omaha, NE Omaha, NE Omaha, NE Palmyra, NE Papillion, NE Ralston, NE

South Dakota

Boys & Girls Club of Brookings Ground Works-Midwest

Brookings, SD Sioux Falls, SD

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Hy-Vee Inc. is an employee-owned corporation operating more than 240 retail stores across eight Midwestern states with sales of $9.8 billion annually. The supermarket chain is synonymous with quality, variety, convenience, healthy lifestyles, culinary expertise and superior customer service. Hy-Vee ranks in the Top 10 Most Trusted Brands and has been named one of America’s Top 5 favorite grocery stores. The company’s 84,000 employees provide “A Helpful Smile in Every Aisle” to customers every day. For additional information, visit www.hy-vee.com.