Giant Food Stores has entered into a multi-year agreement with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the state Department of Agriculture to become the official sponsor of the Exposition Hall at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center in Harrisburg.
The sponsorship was formally announced during a press conference in the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center Rotunda with Giant Food Stores President Nicholas Bertram and Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding.
“When you think of Central Pennsylvania and the Harrisburg area, the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center almost immediately comes to mind,” said Nicholas Bertram, president of Giant Food Stores. “As the market leader and as a company founded and headquartered in nearby Carlisle, we couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to have our name on this iconic and important building as a public symbol of our longstanding support of the community as well as local farmers and food purveyors.”
Giant has been a strong supporter of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s PA Preferred program, which helps the state’s farmers and food processors grow their business. Giant stores offer customers a wide variety of PA Preferred products, including produce, meat and dry goods. In addition, all Giant brand milk and eggs in stores are 100 percent Pennsylvania-produced. The grocer has twice been recognized for its leadership through the first-ever PA Preferred Retailer of the Year Award and an Excellence in Agriculture Award presented by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.
“Giant’s investment in the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center demonstrates a commitment to Pennsylvania agriculture and the positive impact that public-private partnerships can have on this critical industry,” said Secretary Redding. “These partnerships allow us to introduce the world of agriculture to residents from all corners of the commonwealth, celebrating our rich heritage, telling our stories, and inspiring the future."
As part of its sponsorship, Giant will also have a display during the Farm Show highlighting its PA Preferred vendors through product sampling. This exhibit will be located in the Giant Exposition Hall.
“Agriculture is so vital to our business and we deeply value the relationships we’ve cultivated with local farmers,” added Bertram. “We firmly believe that when the connection between the agricultural and retail industries is strong everyone, from the grower to the customer, wins.”
The 103rd Pennsylvania Farm Show runs Jan. 5–12 and will honor agriculture’s rich heritage and promising future with this year’s theme, Inspiring Pennsylvania’s Story. The theme, which will be represented throughout of the weeklong event, will include related events like a daily story time for children, interviews with real Pennsylvanians working in agriculture, and opportunities for attendees to engage and tell their own stories.
The Pennsylvania Farm Show is the nation’s largest indoor agricultural event, featuring 12,000 competitive exhibits, more than 5,200 of which are animal competitions, plus 300 commercial exhibitors. For more information, visit https://www.farmshow.pa.gov.
