Festival Foods makes donations to food pantries through new workplace health program

Appleton store employee loses 40% of body weight through Live Healthy initiative

Green Bay, Wisconsin – (June 6, 2008) – In January of this year, Festival Foods launched a 100-day program to help its associates make changes for a healthier lifestyle and to also raise donations for local food pantries.

Through the Live Healthy Festival program, 322 Festival Foods associates collectively lost 3,854 pounds as a result of logging 23,782 hours of activity minutes.

In honoring its earlier commitment to provide food donations through this program, Festival Foods will donate 3,854 pounds of food—the equivalent of the number of pounds lost by its participating associates—to local food pantries in communities where the company’s stores are located.

According to Mark Skogen, president and owner of Festival Foods, the Live Healthy Festival program was a resounding success. “Our associates who completed this program were extremely positive about their experiences. They are now healthier and are able to bring greater energy to their work day,” Skogen said.

“At Festival, we are also very excited about being able to provide donations to local food pantries, which are such a wonderful resource for people in need,” Skogen added.

One of the program’s highlights was the accomplishment of Nicole Grosskopf, the assistant meat manager for the west side Appleton store, who lost 40 percent of her body weight. Grosskopf credits a modified diet, regular exercise and the support and encouragement of her co-workers as the keys to her weight loss and improved health.

“This program was great,” Grosskopf said. “I got lots of helpful tips along the way, and thanks to things like portion control, eating gluten-free pasta and cutting out junk food, I was actually able to drop eight pant sizes. I have so much more energy now.”

To honor Grosskopf for her achievement, Festival Foods awarded her with a trip for four to the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., along with a $500 gift card and two nights at a hotel.

The Live Healthy Festival program is based on the Live Healthy America program, a nationwide, teamwork-driven initiative. Through Live Health America, individuals and organizations are motivated and taught how to make positive and lasting changes for a healthier lifestyle. The program emphasizes increased physical activity, improved nutrition and weight loss.

Information on Live Healthy America is available at www.livehealthyamerica.org

About Festival Foods 

Festival Foods (www.festfoods.com) operates 12 stores in Wisconsin, and it employs nearly 2,900 full- and part-time associates. A family-owned company, Festival Foods has stores in Green Bay (2), De Pere, Appleton (2), Oshkosh, Fond du Lac, Marshfield, Eau Claire, Holmen, Onalaska and La Crosse.