AFL Awards Community Outreach Grant to Community Harvest Project

08/12/2013

Boston, MA and Spartanburg, SC – AFL awarded Community Harvest Project (CHP) a $2,000 grant made possible by AFL’s Community Outreach Program. The grant supports CHP’s Adopt-a-Row program which provides fresh fruits and vegetables to food pantries and community meal sites throughout Worcester County. In addition, the grant will also support the Harvest Home Family Farm Festival, an annual benefit event intended to bring the community together and raise funds to support CFP operations.
 
“Community Harvest Project is the only nonprofit organization in the area dedicated to growing and donating highly nutritious food solely for the purpose of hunger relief,” said Abdel Soufiane, CTO and managing director of AFL’s specialty fiber division, Verrillon. “By providing healthy fruits and vegetables, CHP is improving the quality of life of recipients so they can live a healthier lifestyle.”

In 2012, CHP grew and donated over 324,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables from farms in North Grafton and orchards in Brimfield, equating to nearly 1,100,000 servings of fresh produce for hunger relief. Over 9,500 volunteers served time in the fields and the greenhouse during that same year.

“By taking direct, hands-on action at our farm, members of our community play an effective, visible role in solving a critical local problem—increasing access to nutritious fresh fruits and vegetables for more families in our community,” said Kristin Bafaro, CHP executive director.

Community Harvest Project is now headquartered at the Brigham Hill Community Farm in North Grafton and includes White’s Farm in North Grafton and Cheney Orchards in Brimfield.

Headquartered in Spartanburg, South Carolina, AFL manufactures fiber optic cable and accessories. Its North Grafton, MA facility specializes in designing and customizing specialized fibers for harsh environments including hermetic, high temperature, polarization-maintaining and rare-earth doped fibers. Fiber produced at this facility is now in use in multiple locations worldwide.

AFL has an extensive community outreach program that consists of grants, sponsorships, employee engagement projects, disaster relief and more. For more information about AFL and its Community Outreach Program, visit www.AFLglobal.com.

Pictured left to right: Kristin Bafaro, Executive Director/Community Harvest Project; Karen Lombardi, Office Manager/AFL; Ellen Catapang, Administrative Assistant/AFL; Abdel Soufiane, Managing Director/AFL

About AFL
AFL provides industry-leading products and services to the electric utility, broadband, communications, enterprise and OEM markets as well as the emerging markets of oil and gas, mining, nuclear, avionics, renewables and transportation. The company’s diverse product portfolio includes specialized fiber, fiber optic cable, transmission and substation accessories, outside plant equipment, connectors, fusion splicers, test equipment and training. AFL’s service portfolio includes market-leading positions with the foremost communications companies supporting inside plant central office, EF&I, outside plant, enterprise and wireless areas.

Founded in 1984, AFL is proud to offer engineering expertise, exceptional products and reliable service that help our customers improve their critical and electrical infrastructure. AFL has operations in the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Europe, Asia and the South Pacific. The company is headquartered in Spartanburg, SC, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fujikura Ltd. of Japan. For more information, visit www.AFLglobal.com.

Contact
Abdel Soufiane
CTO/Managing Director
AFL
508.890.7100
soufiane@verrillon.com

Corie Culp
Community Relations Manager
AFL
864.433.5409
Corie.Culp@AFLglobal.com