Rick Patrick
rick@greenepublishing.com
Just in time for the “Lee Homecoming” community event, the park next to Lee Town Hall, received a significant “facelift” on Friday, Sept. 9. This comes through the help and generosity of nearly 70 employees and volunteers from Grimmway Farms.
“Each year, we decide to help clean up one of the communities in which we operate,” said Jerome Lucas, Farm Shop Manager with Grimmway Farms. “This year we were happy to help clean up the park here in Lee. We are especially happy to do this with the Lee Homecoming coming up soon.”
Grimmway Farms is a nation-wide farming operation, known for growing carrots. Headquartered in Bakersfield, Calif., Grimmway Farms began in 1969 as a humble produce stand in Anaheim, Calif. opened by Rod and Bob Grimm. Today, they have grown to be the world's top producer of carrots. In 2018 they opened a processing facility in South Georgia in order to increase distribution efficiencies across the Eastern United States. In addition to carrots, Grimmway Farms produces over 135 seasonal and year-round products distributed worldwide. All of their produce is grown in the United States, including farms in Live Oak and Lee, Fla.
In all the communities in which Grimmway Farms operates, the company organizes community clean-ups. In addition, the company supports many philanthropic endeavors across the nation. These causes include tackling the problem of food insecurity and the support of agricultural education. “We believe that investing in our employees and neighbors through charitable giving is critical to the success of our company as a whole,” states the company's website.
“I can't believe the work they have done,” said a very happy Sona Hayslett, Lee Town Manager. “This is just wonderful. It really looks nice.”
During their community clean-up in Lee, Grimmway Farms employees and volunteers cleaned and pressure washed the tennis courts next to Lee Town Hall, cleaned up and repaired the adjoining ball field, trimmed numerous limbs, replaced old and dilapidated fencing, replaced old water spigots, painted, repaired or replaced playground equipment and much more.
More information about Grimmway Farms can be found at their website, www.grimmway.com.