Pathmark First Recipient of USDA's Golden Grocer Hunger Champions Award
CARTERET, N.J. -- The USDA's Food and Nutrition Service will present its first Golden Grocer Hunger Champions Award to Pathmark Stores, Inc. here Sept. 9, in recognition of the grocer's encouragement for participation in the Food Stamp Program. The award also recognizes efforts made to improve service to food stamp recipients, identifying low income, potentially eligible customers, and for promoting healthy eating habits.
The award will be presented at a press conference at the Broad Street Pathmark store in north Philadelphia. The press conference will also serve to launch the Fifth Annual Healthy Philadelphia Nutrition Fair, which will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Private-sector groups, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies collaborate for the fair to provide health screenings, nutritional counseling, information on government assistance programs, and product sampling to the public. Additionally, potential food stamp recipients can be pre-screened to determine eligibility in the program. Those clients who are viable candidates can formally apply for this form of government aid in the privacy afforded inside the Broad Street Pathmark that same day.
Said Clarence Carter, Deputy Administrator of USDA's Food and Nutrition Service, who will present the award to Pathmark: "The Golden Grocer Hunger Champion Award recognizes the outstanding achievements and creative ideas used by authorized retailers in the Food Stamp Program in the areas of customer service, outreach, and nutrition education. Pathmark has shown exemplary leadership in these areas."
Pathmark is a regional supermarket operating 141 stores mainly in the New York-New Jersey and Philadelphia metropolitan areas.
The award will be presented at a press conference at the Broad Street Pathmark store in north Philadelphia. The press conference will also serve to launch the Fifth Annual Healthy Philadelphia Nutrition Fair, which will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Private-sector groups, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies collaborate for the fair to provide health screenings, nutritional counseling, information on government assistance programs, and product sampling to the public. Additionally, potential food stamp recipients can be pre-screened to determine eligibility in the program. Those clients who are viable candidates can formally apply for this form of government aid in the privacy afforded inside the Broad Street Pathmark that same day.
Said Clarence Carter, Deputy Administrator of USDA's Food and Nutrition Service, who will present the award to Pathmark: "The Golden Grocer Hunger Champion Award recognizes the outstanding achievements and creative ideas used by authorized retailers in the Food Stamp Program in the areas of customer service, outreach, and nutrition education. Pathmark has shown exemplary leadership in these areas."
Pathmark is a regional supermarket operating 141 stores mainly in the New York-New Jersey and Philadelphia metropolitan areas.