Community Involvement
From the day we first opened our doors 17 years ago, we were committed to supporting our community. And as Quality Greens has grown, so has our commitment.
Events
We had a blast again this year at the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation Run for the Cure. We have been a major local sponsor of this event for over 15 years; every fall we support participants with a vast array of complimentary snacks after the event. This year the Kelowna event raised over $250,000! Amazing! We’ll be back again next year and hope to see you there!
The Terry Fox Run was another huge success this year and we were on site September 16, 2012 at Kelowna’s Mission Sports Fields providing snacks and refreshments to all of the participants. Together, your $1 donations at our tills in-store totaled over $2000! We thank you again for your support and we look forward to seeing you again next year!
We had an amazing time for our 4th consecutive year supporting the participants of the Pushor Mitchell Apple Triathlon, providing nutritional food and refreshments at the finish line. Held in Kelowna, this year marked the 30th anniversary of the triathlon that draws athletes of all calibers from our community and North America wide. Congratulations to everyone who competed and a big thanks to the hundreds of people who volunteered along beside us!
We are committed to supporting our community – people and furry friends alike. This year we were regional sponsors for the BC SPCA Paws for a Cause walk throughout the Okanagan Valley helping animals in need in our communities. Between July and September of this year we committed to donating 100% of the proceeds from our sales of all natural Northern Dog Biscuits to our local SPCA. And with your help we are so proud to announce that we raised over $6000 for animals in need in our community. We could not have done it without your support!
Down to Earth
People ask, what happens to the un sellable fruits and vegetables in your stores? We assure you that nothing goes to waste! Each day boxes are picked up or delivered to local farmers to help feed their animals. Items that can be consumed are taken to our local Food Banks to distribute to the folks who come through their doors.
In the back room at each of our locations you’ll see pictures of our foster children from all over the world. Each of our locations sponsors a child through World Vision and each year we receive their progress reports and new pictures of the little boys and girls that we are providing assistance to from afar.
Our Team
And keeping it within our family, every year Quality Greens awards a $500 bursary through the Central Okanagan Bursary Society to one of our deserving employees helping them reach towards their future goals.
Every month we generously support other fundraising initiatives throughout the Okanagan Valley and take great satisfaction out of the little gestures that help our community. It’s our way of giving back…
Down to Earth for Earth Day
At Quality Greens we believe that a healthy environment is important for the well being of our community. Last year alone over 9 billion plastic bags were given out by retail outlets and the majority of them were never recycled. That’s a lot of plastic sitting in our landfills. We want to help lead the clean up! Quality Greens is working to eliminate the use of all plastic shopping bags in all four of our Okanagan locations. As an alternate to plastic, we offer customers reusable bags available for purchase and cardboard boxes free of charge.
Please join us in this commitment to our community!
Frequently Asked Questions about plastic and reusable bags:
What about cross contamination of meat and other food?
We will continue to use small plastic bags for packaging of meats and other deli items as well as the small plastic produce bags. These bags are an important safe guard against cross-contamination.
Aren’t reusable bags a health hazard?
No, not if they are washed and replaced when necessary. Again, we will continue to use small plastic bags for meats, deli and produce items to ensure the health and well being of our customers.
Aren’t degradable plastic bags good enough?
Unfortunately no. For the most part degradable plastic bags are not eligible for recycling programs and will only degrade under specific conditions of heat and light, conditions not often found in landfills.
What if I forget my reusable bags at home?
No problem. We have cardboard boxes available free of charge in each location for your convenience and a limited supply of plastic bags will be available upon request at a cost of $.05/bag.
More information about why it’s important to be plastic bag free!
http://www.greenerfootprints.com/
http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/battleofthebag/video.html
http://www.plasticbagfree.com/facts.php
http://www.poconorecord.com/_flash/soundslides/20080505plasticbags/soundslider.swf
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/06/10/top-un-environmental-official-ban-plastic-bags/