Market Gardeners Limited, trading as the MG Group has been recognised by Foodstuffs New Zealand, winning the prestigious “Here For NZ” partnership award at their annual supplier event held at Te Pae in Christchurch on Thursday 4 April 2024.
The national award is presented to the supply partner which most closely aligns with their Here for NZ social priorities which include making healthy food accessible, supporting communities, looking after people and operating in an environmentally sustainable way.
When presenting the 2024 trophy, Foodstuffs outlined the initiatives which contributed to the MG Group being selected, which included the work of the MG Charitable Trust, the Good Bunch programme which is driven in partnership with DoleNZ and the Salvation Army and the meaningful sustainability projects delivered by the teams across the MG Group.
“It was very humbling to receive the national partnership award which acknowledges the work we’re doing above and beyond simply providing a good service to growers and customers,” said MG Group CEO, Peter Hendry.
“As a co-operative, being community minded, looking after people and focusing on long-term sustainability is engrained in what we do, with one of our key strategies being to ensure the business is well positioned for the benefit of future generations.”
“While we’re really pleased to be recognised, we don’t do it for the accolades, so what makes this award extra special is that we didn’t put ourselves forward - Foodstuffs took the time to seek out the MG Group as a winner and learn about the initiatives and projects our teams have delivered in this space."
The MG Group was also a finalist in the Foodstuffs SI Fresh Excellence Award, which the co-operative won previously in 2022.