From left to right: Mike Grey, Sodexo, VP; Aaron Lenart, Sodexo, Exec. Chef; Jeff Greim, Jeff's Granola, Founder CEO; Katherine Tapp, Jeff's Granola, Executive Asst.; Joyce LeSieur, Sodexo Springfield Backpackers Program, Coordinator; Daniel Warwick, Springfield Public Schools, Superintendent; Domenic Sarno, City of Springfield, Mayor; and Norma Nunnally, Sodexo, Community Relations Manager. Photo courtesy the City of Springfield.

Longmeadow, MA – September 18, 2019 – Jeff’s Granola, a granola company using real ingredients and donating all profits to customer-selected charities, announced today a new partnership with the Springfield Public Schools System supplying healthy food to student cafeterias and giving back all profits to the not-for-profit Sodexo Springfield Weekend Backpacker Program, working to eliminate student hunger at home. Jeff’s Granola is now served in the cafeterias of all the Springfield Public Schools.

On Thursday, September 12, Jeff’s Granola Founder and CEO Jeff Greim presented an initial donation of $2,156 to the Sodexo Springfield Backpackers Program. Annual donations are projected to exceed $10,000. Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, Springfield Public Schools Superintendent Daniel Warwick, and Manager of the Sodexo Springfield Backpackers Program Joyce LeSieur attended the ceremony. The annual donation will mark the largest donation to a single charity that has ever been made through Jeff’s Granola’s philanthropic business model.   

Hunger is all too common in Springfield, Massachusetts where 76% of students automatically qualify for school meals based on household income, but school meals only provide half of all meals that students need each week. The Backpacker Program fills the gap between lunch on Friday and breakfast on Monday. During the 2018-2019 school year, the program served an average of 250 students each week with backpacks filled with high quality meals, and over 25,000 meals were distributed throughout the school year.

“We could not be more thrilled to be partnering with the Springfield Public Schools System and giving back to local school children with much-needed weekend meals,” said Jeff Greim. “Philanthropic business models offer a win-win with living wages for employees and vital funding for charitable programs. “

“I want to thank Jeff for his outstanding service to our community,” said Superintendent Warwick. “There is nothing more wonderful than corporate citizens stepping up and donating funds to help our families that have food insecurity on weekends.“

“I want to thank Jeff’s Granola for this donation,” said Program Manager Lesieur. “Donations of this size really help to sustain the program and keep it going.”

And representing Sodexo, the operator of the Backpacker Program, VP Mike Grey stated: “We believe our role here is not to just come in and fulfill our contract minimums but to support the citizens and certainly the students in the school system and to help the community move forward. So we do the Backpacker Program because we take our role as a good corporate citizen very seriously.”

About Jeff’s Granola

Jeff’s Granola is made with real ingredients and donates all profits to your favorite charities. We believe in the goodness of our customers. Whether it’s donating to your favorite local charity or organization working around the world, you choose where 100% of the profits from your purchase are donated.

Jeff’s Granola is available at the following retail locations, jeffsgranola.com, and Amazon.

• BIG Y, 802 Williams St, Longmeadow, MA 01106
• BIG Y, 441 N Main St, East Longmeadow, MA 01028
• BIG Y, 136 North King Street Route 5, Northampton, MA 01060
• BIG Y, 237 Mohawk Trail, Route 2, Greenfield, MA 01301
• BIG Y, 175 University Drive, Amherst, MA 01002
• BIG Y, 44 Willimansett Street, South Hadley, MA 01075
• Fresh Acres Market, 1941 Wilbraham Rd, Springfield, MA 01129
• Highland Park Market, 68 Bridge Street Suffield, CT 06078
• River Valley Co-Op, 330 N King St, Northampton, MA 01060

Jeff’s Granola was founded in 2012 by Jeff Greim, who has over three decades of experience working and teaching in the nonprofit and public sectors. Jeff received a BA from the College of William & Mary in government, an MPPS in public policy sciences from Duke University, an MS in education from Bank Street College of Education.

Visit jeffsgranola.com to learn more.