Nearly 500 employees with a locally based food distributor recently spent a day volunteering at nonprofits in their communities.

SpartanNash teams volunteered a combined 3,500 hours at 32 nonprofits in West Michigan on June 22 and in Minneapolis on June 27 during the company’s seventh-annual Helping Hands in the Community Days.

Volunteers spent the days landscaping, building homes at West Michigan and Minneapolis Habitat for Humanity sites, volunteering at the Special Olympics Minnesota State Summer Games, preparing meals and sorting donations.

“This is a special day for all of our company’s more than 15,000 associates, because we can come together to give back to our local communities in a real and impactful way,” said Dave Staples, president and CEO, SpartanNash. “Many of our distribution, retail and corporate associates already volunteer their time to worthy causes throughout the year and having the chance to come together as a company and take a day to give back is very special.” 

Organizations that benefited from the voluneer work included The Bridge for Youth, Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Degage Ministries, the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans, Guiding Light, Loaves and Fishes, Sojourner Project and 24 other nonprofits.

SpartanNash associates have collectively volunteered more than 13,000 hours since the program first began in 2011.

SpartanNash  

Byron Center-based SpartanNash was formed in 2013 when Spartan Stores merged with Minneapolis-based Nash-Finch Company.

It said it is the nation’s fifth-largest food distributor and also operates more than 150 retail grocery stores in 10 states.