LANDOVER, Md., June 2 — Giant Food of Landover, Md., and the New England Aquarium are making a splash to raise awareness for ocean preservation in celebration of World Oceans Day. This year marks a decade-long partnership and collaboration between Giant and the aquarium to develop a sustainable seafood policy that provides shoppers with seafood options that are healthy and affordable with an emphasis on improving the environmental friendliness of the seafood they offer.
"Giant was one of the first grocery stores in the country to partner with an outside expert resource to become educated in the best practices of seafood sustainability," said Kim Brown, vice president of public affairs and community relations for Giant Food of Landover, Md. "We knew it was important to put science-based research behind our policy, that's why partnering with the New England Aquarium seemed like such a great fit."
Giant Food's sustainable seafood policy includes:
•Working only with reputable suppliers
•Active promotion of items such as Pacific longline-caught cod, Alaska salmon, Arctic char, and tilapia that come from well managed fisheries and farms
•Communication with consumers, associates, and shareholders about efforts to improve sustainability, such as on our website and through our annual Corporate Responsibility report
In addition to the sustainability efforts, Giant is committed to freshness and provides frequent seafood deliveries, strict specifications and works with suppliers who are committed to freshness and quality.
"For the last 10 years we've worked with Giant to evaluate their seafood purchases and provide research and recommendations on ways to make their sustainability seafood program even stronger," said Lydia Bergen, director of conservation at the New England Aquarium. "World Oceans Day is a great opportunity to educate everyone about how essential the oceans are to us and how we can make a difference – from choosing sustainable seafood to reducing the use of plastics to keep them out of the ocean."
Giant Food and the New England Aquarium's work together has come a long way over the last 10 years. From starting to review and make shifts on a few key species at the beginning of the partnership to now reviewing Giant's entire seafood assortment, Giant and the New England Aquarium are really starting to see positive shifts in the industry. "More of our vendor partners realize the need for the improvement of fisheries and aquaculture," Brown stated. "We are seeing more of our seafood supply become certified by organizations that put environmental parameters into their requirements and more sharing of best practices to help work toward applying those practices across the board." Through Giant's work with the New England Aquarium, the company is viewed as a leader in working toward sustainable seafood.
World Oceans Day
June 8 marks the official United Nations-sanctioned celebration of World Oceans Day – a day that will bring hundreds of aquariums, including the New England Aquarium, zoos, museums, conservation organizations, and thousands of individuals around the world to participate in fun, inspirational, and educational events to celebrate and share best practices for ocean conservation.
Source: Giant Food, LLC