Parker’s Kitchen — an award-winning convenience store and food service company with locations across coastal Georgia and South Carolina — recently made a landmark $1 million donation to support America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia, a nonprofit organization based in Savannah, Ga. that serves as the food safety net for tens of thousands of individuals who are at risk for hunger across a 21-county area.
On Sept. 27, Parker’s founder and CEO Greg Parker presented a $1 million check to America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia Executive Director Mary Jane Crouch at a special media event and hard hat tour of the nonprofit’s new 143,000-square-foot facility, which is currently under construction on a 20-acre site at 1380 Chatham Parkway in Savannah. Parker made the donation in honor of Hunger Action Month in September, expanding the company’s commitment to provide two million meals to hungry children in 2023.
“America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia serves as a vital food safety net for so many children, seniors and families who are experiencing food insecurity throughout the region,” Parker said during the check presentation ceremony. “At Parker’s Kitchen, we want to be a force for positive change in our community. We hope this $1 million donation will help America’s Second Harvest feed even more children and more families in the future.”
The new America’s Second Harvest facility on Chatham Parkway will double the existing warehouse, office, volunteer center and commercial kitchen space. A state-of-the-art warehouse will include 10 tractor-trailer docks for receiving and additional bays for Kids Cafe trucks and agency pickups. The new facility is expected to be operational by January 2024.
“We are incredibly grateful to Parker’s Kitchen for this generous donation, which will be critical to our success at our new location on Chatham Parkway,” said America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia Executive Director Mary Jane Crouch. “This new facility has been designed to meet the needs of our organization and the children, seniors, families and individuals facing food insecurity in the 21 counties that we serve.”
The new America’s Second Harvest food bank will include a 98,108 square-foot warehouse, a 18,425 square-foot volunteer center and agency marketplace, a 13,480 square-foot Kids Cafe commercial kitchen and expanded office and training space that will allow the America’s Second Harvest to provide even more vital support to neighbors in need. The organization is completing a two-year capital campaign made possible in part by a grant allocation by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs as well as many generous donors, corporations, foundations and grants.
The Parker’s Kitchen donation will be made through customer round-up campaign contributions over the next five years as well as a Parker’s Kitchen match designed to maximize the campaign’s impact. Since Parker’s Kitchen launched its inaugural round-up campaign in May 2022, the company has raised nearly $500,000 to fight hunger in Georgia and South Carolina.
Established in 1981, America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia is a volunteer-driven nonprofit food bank and community partner. The nonprofit organization is leading the effort to end hunger and improve lives in 21 counties through meaningful programs, including Brown Bag for the Elderly, Kids Cafe, Partner Market Place and the Mobile Food Pantry. Last year, Second Harvest’s food bank provided 22.8 million pounds of food, the equivalent of 19 million meals, to hungry people throughout coastal Georgia.
Known for its longstanding commitment to charitable giving, Parker’s is one of the most generous companies in the convenience store industry and in the Southeast. Earlier this year, Parker’s Kitchen made a landmark $5 million donation to provide healthcare to uninsured and underinsured patients at Roper/St. Francis Healthcare in Charleston, S.C. through the Parker’s Community Fund.
Parker’s also endowed the Parker’s Emergency and Trauma Center at Memorial Hospital in Savannah, Ga. and made a record $5 million donation to name the Parker College of Business at Georgia Southern University, supporting the next generation of business leaders in Georgia. The Parker’s Community Fund, which was created in 2021 by a major donation from Parker’s founder and CEO Greg Parker, also provided critical funding for Union Mission to open the Parker House for Women in Savannah, Ga., the region’s first facility for unaccompanied homeless women
In addition, the company’s acclaimed Fueling the Community charitable giving initiative donates a percentage of gas sold at all Parker’s and Parker’s Kitchen locations on the first Wednesday of each month to area schools. Parker’s has donated more than $1.8 million to area schools since the inception of the Fueling Community program in 2011.
Parker’s stands apart as one of America’s most respected convenience store brands and is known for having the cleanest stores in the industry. Headquartered in Savannah, Ga., Parker’s has enjoyed robust 20 to 24 percent annual growth every year for the past 25 years and has been featured six times on the prestigious Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America. The company also offers an acclaimed Parker’s Rewards program, which saves customers time and money at the pump as well as in the store.
In 2020, Parker’s was named the Convenience Store Chain of the Year by Convenience Store Decisions, which is the industry’s highest honor. The company has been honored by Food and Wine as one of America’s Best Convenience Stores and by Convenience Store News as the Convenience Foodservice Leader of the Year.
Since its founding in 1976, Parker’s has grown to become an award-winning company that has been voted one of America’s top 10 gas station brands by USA TODAY readers. The Parker’s Rewards loyalty program, which includes more than 300,000 members, has saved customers more than $15 million to date. Parker’s employs more than 1,200 individuals throughout South Carolina and Georgia and completes more than 120,000 transactions daily.
For more information about the Parker’s Round-up Campaign and the company’s commitment to charitable giving, visit parkerskitchen.com.
About Parker's
Honored as the 2020 Convenience Store Decisions Chain of the Year, Parker’s is strategically redefining the nation’s convenience store industry, offering customers high-quality products, freshly prepared food and superior customer service at retail stores throughout southeast Georgia and South Carolina. Headquartered in Savannah, Ga., Parker’s has a commitment to exceeding customer expectations and has repeatedly been recognized as one of the nation’s leading convenience store and foodservice companies. Parker’s Kitchen, the popular food-centric brand under the Parker’s umbrella, serves world-famous hand-breaded Southern Fried Chicken Tenders as well as made-from-scratch mac ‘n’ cheese, a breakfast bar and daily specials. The company’s popular Parker’s Rewards loyalty program, which includes more than 300,000 members, has saved Parker’s customers more than $15 million to date. Learn more: parkerskitchen.com.
About America's Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia, Inc.
America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia serves as a regional food bank, functioning as the food warehouse and distribution center to more than 245 non-profit organizations and churches in our area. Through food relief programs and collaboration with partner agencies, America’s Second Harvest distributed more than 22.8 million pounds of food last year to people in need in our community – children, senior citizens, people with disabilities, people experiencing homelessness and others whose incomes are insufficient to meet their basic needs. To learn more about how America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia is leading the effort to end hunger and improve lives in our community, call (912) 236-6750 or visit www.helpendhunger.org.
