ShopRite, Dole Help Sow N.J. School’s Learning Garden

The Camden Street School, in Newark, N.J., has a new Project Learning Garden, thanks in part to Dole Packaged Foods and the soon-to-open ShopRite of Newark. The project enables students to interact with the environment through a garden, while expanding their palates and learning about the origins of foods.

Dole committed resources to the endeavor, in conjunction with a recent Earth Day-themed program undertaken with ShopRite stores, and Greater Newark Conservancy also gave its support to the project. The Project Learning Garden, part of a larger effort to increase services in Newark, was bestowed in tandem with the forthcoming ShopRite store, which is set open this summer.

"We understand the importance of teaching children the benefits of incorporating fruits and vegetables into their diet, whether they are enjoying fresh produce from their learning garden, or a healthy Dole snack," said Larry White, VP-sales at Dole Packaged Foods, a subsidiary of Westlake Village, Calif.-based Dole International Holdings. "By partnering with Captain Planet Foundation and ShopRite, we are helping more students learn about and develop healthy habits."

"At ShopRite we are always looking for ways to improve the quality of the life for the families we serve, especially children, through education around nutrition and healthy living," added Neil Greenstein, owner of the forthcoming ShopRite of Newark. "Giving back to our neighborhoods is incredibly important to us."

Last year, Staten Island, N.Y.-based retail cooperative Key Food teamed with Dole and CPF to run a contest to award two New York metro-area schools with learning gardens.

ShopRite is the registered trademark of Wakefern Food Corp., a Keasbey, N.J.-based retailer-owned cooperative with more than 250 ShopRite supermarkets located in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland. The stores serve more than 6 million customers each week.