Philips Employees' Garden Benefits Food Bank

More than 150 employees at Philips’ Andover location on Minuteman Drive have been gardening for good, donating most of the food they grow in their community garden to the Mobile Food Pantry program of the Merrimack Valley Food Bank. This week marked the first harvest from the garden and representatives from the food pantry came by personally to pick up the food and meet some of the gardeners.

The Community Garden idea grew from an employee suggestion for an Earth Day project. Philips donated land for the garden, built a fence to keep animals out, and also provided plumbing infrastructure so the garden could be watered easily. The garden opened for planting on May 23, 2012, and consists of 32 10ft x 10ft plots.

The Merrimack Valley Food Bank’s Mobile Pantry serves more than 300 households, and provides food to elderly and disabled residents all over the Merrimack Valley.  The Mobile Pantry also plans to arrange for Philips employees to be directly engaged in the donation process by going to the homes to deliver vegetables personally.

“We weren’t sure how many people would be interested in participating, when we first started the project,” said Tom Chretien, environmental engineer, Philips. “But the response from our employees has been excellent. With a mix of first-time gardeners and veterans, nearly all the employees have found the garden to be an excellent workplace community builder.”

“I think it’s important for the gardeners to see how their donation really makes a difference in the lives of people who otherwise wouldn’t have access to fresh vegetables,” said Lynn Satriale, supply chain operations, Philips. “I’ve been gardening since I was very young, and I still love that fresh-from-the-vine taste. I want to make sure that people who are less fortunate get to have that experience.” She has also said that working on the garden with her colleagues has been rewarding experience, and it’s taken strong team coordination to ensure that their harvest is successful.