They opened their first Burnaby location on Good Friday – right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, so residents of the Burnaby Heights neighbourhood could have another option for stocking up on needed groceries and supplies.
Now, Sungiven Foods has donated the entirety of their first-day gross sales to support health-care workers at Burnaby Hospital.
In a socially-distanced cheque presentation on April 30, senior representatives from Sungiven Foods donated the nearly $35,000 on behalf of all the company’s frontline employees.
“Our frontline employees make us extremely proud, and during these challenging times, they have chosen to keep on providing for the community,” said the company in a statement. “They felt it would be meaningful to make this donation in support and recognition of other community heroes; the frontline doctors and nurses fighting the pandemic in Burnaby.”
Sungiven’s first foray into Burnaby, at the corner of Hastings and Gilmore, represents their third store in Metro Vancouver, with two other locations at City Square Shopping Centre and at 3301 W. Broadway. The company, which advocates a natural approach, with fewer additives and less processed foods, is planning to open between five and 15 stores over the next three years.
“Just like our health-care workers on the frontlines, the individuals putting themselves at risk to provide essential services, like grocery, are definitely heroes in my mind too,” said Burnaby Hospital Foundation CEO Kristy James. “We are so grateful for this incredible contribution from Sungiven Foods on behalf of their staff. During this difficult time, I am just incredibly proud of how our citizens and corporate citizens have stepped forward and rallied for one another.”
For information about Burnaby Hospital Foundation, or to contribute to the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, visit bhfoundation.ca.
