Green Beverly wins voting for food diversion grant
Green Beverly wins $25,000 State Farm Neighborhood Assist® Grant
Local Organization Is One of 100 Countrywide Winners
In just 10 days, 88,000 people cast more than 2 million votes in support of their favorite causes. State Farm is proud to announce the Top 100 vote-earning causes that won $25,000 grants, including an innovative food diversion project from sustainability nonprofit Green Beverly. The 200 finalists for the grant were selected by the State Farm Review Committee from over 4,000 applicants. Public voting determined the winning 100. Green Beverly was the only organization in Massachusetts to be selected as a finalist.
Front row, L-R: Julie DeSilva (Advisory Board); Julia Long (Events Director); Simone Wagner (Web Manager); Dean Berg (Executive Director); Purvi Harley (Advisory Board and Food Diversion project manager); Margaret Collins (Communications Director); Tom Keeley (Board of Directors). Back row includes Senator Joan Lovely (left of center), Representative Jerry Parisella (right of center), and Green Beverly volunteers.
“State Farm is happy to celebrate its 100th anniversary by providing these 100 causes with grant money to help them address the needs in their communities,” said Rasheed Merritt, Assistant Vice President at State Farm. “We look forward to seeing the impact these $25,000 grants will have.”
The mission of Green Beverly is to help all residents lead more sustainable lives through actionable information and inspiration. By collecting excess, edible food from local restaurants, supermarkets and farms, the organization provides underserved Beverly neighbors with fresh, nutritious food. These efforts also help to reduce the community’s environmental footprint by diverting excess food from the waste stream.
State Farm Neighborhood Assist is a crowd-sourced philanthropic program that empowers communities to identify issues in their neighborhoods. Non-profits affiliated with each of the Top 100 causes receive grants to address them.
The $25,000 Neighborhood Assist grant will allow Green Beverly to hire staff and rent the transportation needed to bring food to people in need.
"Green Beverly is honored to receive this $25,000 grant from State Farm Neighborhood Assist for our Food Diversion project,” says Dean Berg, Green Beverly Executive Director. “Over one third of all food in the United States is wasted, responsible for at least 200 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year. Meanwhile, over a third of our neighbors at or below the poverty line experience food insecurity. This project will put high-quality food that would otherwise be wasted into the hands of our excellent meal program partners, fighting hunger and climate change at the same time. The entire Beverly community thanks State Farm for this extraordinary recognition and support!"
