Pink Ribbon Produce Returning to Grocers

In tandem with Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Pink Ribbon Produce returns Oct. 7 to more than 500 Harris Teeter, Meijer and Price Chopper stores. The breast cancer education program, managed by advertising and PR agency AugustineIdeas, teams the three supermarket operators with produce suppliers to raise funds for the National Breast Cancer Foundation Inc. (NBCF).

Stores will call out participating produce suppliers with a Pink Ribbon Produce icon on posters and point-of-sale signs. As well as purchasing selected products to support Frisco, Texas-based NBCF, customers can text “Pink HT” for Harris Teeter, “PINK M” for Meijer or “Pink PC” for Price Chopper to 80077 to make a donation.

“Pink Ribbon Produce brings together grocery retailers, produce partners and consumers to support a cause that directly impacts one in eight women across the United States,” noted Debbie Augustine, CEO of Roseville, Calif.-based AugustineIdeas. “This program gives everyone a tangible way to make a difference, while helping to fund treatments and research for a cure.”

Through such activities as Pink Ribbon Produce, NBCF provides funding for research, educational programs and mammograms to women across the United States.

Among the produce partners participating in this year’s campaign are Alpine Fresh, Bushwick Potato Commission, CH Robinson, Del Monte Fresh Produce, Dole Fresh Fruit Co., Dole Packaged Salad, Earthbound Farm, Fresh Express, Gourmet Trading, Mastronardi Produce, NatureSweet, Paramount Citrus and Sunlight International Sales Inc.

Harris Teeter Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Matthews, N.C.-based Harris Teeter Supermarkets, Inc., employs about 25,000 associates and operats stores in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, Maryland, Delaware, Florida and the District of Columbia.

A pioneer of the “one-stop shopping” concept, Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Meijer operates 199 supercenters and grocery stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky.

Based in Schenectady, N.Y., the Golub Corp. owns and operates 130 Price Chopper stores in New York, Vermont, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Golub’s 23,000 teammates collectively own 52 percent of the company’s privately held stock, making it one of the nation’s largest privately held corporations that is predominantly employee owned.