Annual Back-to-School Drive supports students and families in California, Georgia, and Washington

Bakersfield, CA – August 25, 2026 – Grimmway Produce Group (GPG) has completed its third annual Back-to-School Drive, rallying employees across departments and locations in California, Georgia, and Washington to support local students and families as they head back to school. 

This year, the drive extended to GPG locations across Kern County and in Lake Park, Georgia; Oxnard, California; and Pasco, Washington. Together, employees across these communities filled collection boxes with more than 2,400 backpacks, notebooks, and other vital school supplies, easing the burden of back-to-school expenses so more students walk into the classroom prepared and confident on day one.  

In Kern County, employees filled 30 large boxes with supplies for students in the Arvin Union School District, donating 165 backpacks – the highest total since the drive began – along with hundreds of notebooks, binders, pencils, markers, and more. In Lake Park, Grimmway team members collected 230 school items for the Echols County School District, and in Pasco, more than 300 items were donated to students at Three Rivers Elementary School.  In Oxnard, GPG’s San Miguel Produce team collected 208 backpacks and 1,066 classroom items to support 200 local families from Ramona Elementary School through the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Program. Following the unexpected announcement that Ramona Elementary would close for the 2026-2027 school year, San Miguel employees stepped up to support students and their families with donations of both school supplies and fresh local produce. 

“This is our third year running this drive, and every year our employees show up in an even bigger way for students and schools in the communities where we live and work,” said Dana Brennan, Grimmway Produce Group Vice President of Corporate Affairs. “This year’s record number of backpacks and learning materials shows how much our Grimmway team members care about setting kids up for success. We’re pleased to partner with districts across our growing regions to provide these supplies to students and families when they need them most.” 

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About Grimmway Produce Group
Grimmway Produce Group (GPG) is a family of companies who together are a global produce leader and North America’s premier grower, shipper, and processor of carrots, potatoes, and organic vegetables. Operating across nineteen U.S. states and four Canadian provinces, we select each growing region for its ability to deliver fresh, high-quality produce year-round. With a network of twenty facilities and hundreds of field operations, we ensure our customers have consistent access to produce they can trust. At Grimmway Produce Group, growth means investing in our operations, the land, our people, and the communities we serve.