On Thursday, September 19, Aramark (NYSE: ARMK) team members volunteered their time at the South Shore YMCA Family Farm to share nutrition knowledge and inspire local families and children to lead healthy lifestyles. These volunteers joined more than 12,000 Aramark team members across 15 counties who were volunteering at 400 service projects across the globe during Aramark’s annual day of community service, Aramark Building Community Day (ABC Day).
During the event, the volunteers worked in the gardens to winterize and harvest the crops. Children enrolled at the nearby Hanover Early Learning Center were also able to walk to the farm and learn from the volunteers who showed off their culinary skills, allowing the children to experience firsthand how to harvest and create healthy meals from the crops produced on-site.
“Every year, thousands of Aramark team members come together to volunteer their time and talent in the communities where they live and work on Aramark Building Community Day,” said Gina Shaw, Aramark Uniform Services Account Manager. “We were excited to have 24 Aramark team members from multiple lines of business working together to bring health and wellness education and workforce readiness programs to Hanover families and achieving our goal of creating long-lasting impact here on the South Shore.”
ABC Day supports Aramark’s Healthy for Life® commitment to improve the health of Americans, and Aramark’s Feed Your Potential 365 public health and well-being campaign, promoting healthy lifestyles.
Located between the South Shore YMCA’s Early Learning Center in Hanover and the Emilson branch of the South Shore YMCA in Hanover, the SSYMCA Family Farm exists to provide the community and our visitors with tangible learning experiences in organic farming.
“Volunteers like those from Aramark are crucial to our Family Farm’s operations,” said Chris Jacobs, Executive Director, SSYMCA South Shore Natural Science Center. “The Y is grateful to all those who donate their time to support the mission of the South Shore YMCA – to promote healthy living by making freshly grown foods available to those in need.”
The South Shore YMCA Family Farm supports the mission of the YMCA by providing educational and volunteer opportunities for community members and companies such as Aramark, and allows the Y to grow fresh produce to donate to food pantries.
ABC Day projects at the South Shore YMCA Family Farm included:
- Winterizing and harvesting crops from the YMCA Family Farm gardens.
- Hosting food discovery experiences, educational activities and tastings, led by Aramark chefs and dietitians, from Berklee & Salem State University that taught children from the YMCA Learning Center’s Pre-K & Kindergarten classrooms how to make healthier food choices using produce picked fresh from the gardens on the farm.
This year, Aramark celebrates more than ten years of Aramark Building Community, which debuted in Philadelphia, Chicago and Houston in 2008, and the sixth anniversary of ABC Day. Since its inception, more than 70,000 Aramark employees have volunteered their time and talent to support Aramark Building Community projects, impacting five million children and families in underserved communities since 2008.
To learn more about the South Shore YMCA’s Family Farm and upcoming volunteer opportunities, please visit ssymca.org/familyfarm or contact Chris Jacobs at cjacobs@ssymca.org or 781-659-2559.
About Aramark Building Community
Aramark has invested tens of millions of dollars in expertise, financial and in-kind resources to strengthen communities through Aramark Building Community, our commitment to improve community health and wellness and help people succeed through education and employment. Learn more at http://www.aramark.com/responsibility or connect with us on Facebook and Instagram.
About Aramark
Aramark (NYSE: ARMK) proudly serves Fortune 500 companies, world champion sports teams, state-of-the-art healthcare providers, the world’s leading educational institutions, iconic destinations and cultural attractions, and numerous municipalities in 19 countries around the world. Our 270,000 team members deliver experiences that enrich and nourish millions of lives every day through innovative services in food, facilities management and uniforms. We work to put our sustainability goals into action by focusing on initiatives that engage our employees, empower healthy living, preserve our planet and build local communities. Aramark is recognized as one of the World’s Most Admired Companies by FORTUNE, as well as an employer of choice by the Human Rights Campaign and DiversityInc. Learn more at www.aramark.com or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
About the South Shore YMCA
The South Shore YMCA is a not-for-profit association of individuals dedicated to improving the quality of life for all through programs that promote healthy spirit, mind, and body. Serving the communities of Quincy, Randolph, Holbrook, Weymouth, Braintree, Milton, Hingham, Hull, Cohasset, Scituate, Norwell, Hanover and beyond, the South Shore Y provides the opportunity to grow, learn, and thrive through its services and programs. Financial Assistance is a Y community benefit available to all families in need, applicable to all Y programs and services. To learn more about the South Shore YMCA, visit www.ssymca.org. The South Shore YMCA. The Better You Belongs Here.
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