The Minnesota Grocers Association (MGA) has revealed the Silver Plate Award winners of its 2016 Bag Hunger Campaign contest. The contest is part of a state-wide campaign coordinated annually by the MGA that engages Minnesotans in the fight to bag hunger in their neighborhoods. The 2016 Bag Hunger Campaign donated $15,000 to Second Harvest Heartland with an additional $11,000 donated to hunger relief partners across the state. Since 2008, participants in the MGA’s hunger campaign programs have provided more than 35 million meals to hungry families in Minnesota.
The Bag Hunger Campaign brought together numerous retail members, vendor partners and community food banks to fill local food shelves across the state. Participating stores and vendor locations offered multiple opportunities for consumers to contribute to the campaign. Some stores encouraged customers to donate grocery items in-store or round up their purchase totals at the register, contributing the price difference to feed local families. Others prominently displayed the names of customers who donated money on shopping list icons in their stores.
“The success of the Bag Hunger Campaign is driven by the exceptional efforts and generosity of our members, vendor partners, community food support agencies and, most significantly, Minnesota’s grocery customers,” said MGA President Jamie Pfuhl. “The excitement and dedication demonstrated by all partners, participants and community members is inspiring. We are proud to play a role in this collective effort to end hunger in Minnesota’s communities. Congratulations to our Silver Plate Award winners for their wonderfully creative, engaging and effective efforts.”
The winners of the Silver Plate Awards created in-store displays that best depicted the campaign’s theme to bag hunger in their neighborhood and were required to use a combination of in-store advertising and vendor products. In addition to the award, each winning company or partnership will receive $1,000 to donate to the food charity of its choice on behalf of the Bag Hunger Campaign.
The Best Creative Partnership Silver Plates were awarded to a vendor and retailer who teamed up to create a display with central theme that educated consumers about the fight to end hunger. This year’s winning teams were Post Consumer Brands and Coborn’s for their Sauk Rapids display and Post Consumer Brands and Super One Foods for their four Iron Range store displays.
The Best Overall Program Support Silver Plates were awarded to one vendor and two retailers that met the above requirements, as well as collaborated with other campaign participants. The retailer single store award was presented to Chris’ Food Center of Sandstone, the retailer chain store award was presented to Cub Foods based in Stillwater, and the vendor award went to KEMPS in St. Paul.
“Thank you to all MGA’s members and grocery consumers for their help in providing food for families in need,” said Rob Zeaske, CEO Second Harvest Heartland. “The generosity of the grocery stores, vendors and consumers provides support and hope to so many people as they struggle through tough times. We are very appreciative to the retail food industry for their important contributions.”
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