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AGAR News

AGAR Awarded Contract with Greater Boston Food Bank
 

Largest Independent Food Distributor in New England wins MEFAP Core Food Contract

 

Taunton, MA: July 21, 2008: AGAR, New England’s largest independent broadline food distributor announced this week they have been awarded a year-long account to supply the Greater Boston Food Bank. AGAR has been awarded the year-long bid for the fiscal year 2009 Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance Program (MEFAP) to supply the Greater Boston Food Bank, and affiliated food Banks in Worcester County, Merrimack Valley, and Western Mass.

AGAR has been awarded both the Retail and the Utility portion of the 2009 Core Food Contract. The Retail portion will supply single use items for patrons of food pantries and related organizations while the Utility portion of the contract supplies bulk food items that are delivered to foodservice related organizations such as soup kitchens and shelters that work closely with the Greater Boston Food Bank.

AGAR will supply food items such as beef, turkey and other meats as well as dairy including butter and cheeses. They will also supply pastas, cereals, beans and vegetables as well as certain healthy items with a focus on goods produced in Massachusetts.

“We understand the Greater Boston Food Bank now more than ever needed a partner in this program and we worked hard to prove to them that we would be a true partner in their fight against hunger,” stated Karen Bressler, president and CEO of AGAR. “We worked very hard here at AGAR to come up with the best possible pricing and other solutions to meet the needs of the food banks and the people that rely on them.”

MEFAP is a state funded program that The Greater Boston Food Bank uses to purchase foods that are distributed free to all eligible emergency food providers on an "agency choice" basis and to sponsor nutrition education initiatives. The MEFAP program is a supplementary food assistance program in nature and is not intended to cover all needs of an agency.

About AGAR:
Agar Supply Co, Inc., based in Taunton, Massachusetts is New England’s largest independent food distributor and the thirteenth largest in the United States. AGAR offers a wide range of solutions for the food service industry. The company is New England’s premier supplier of meats, poultry, seafood
and grocery items as well as dairy products, non-perishables, non food items, janitorial supplies and small wares.

AGAR was founded in 1940 as a Boston meat distributor, supplying meats to the Chinese community and saw significant growth under the direction of Alan Bressler in later years. And while the company still maintains its roots as a leader in providing “Center of the Plate” solutions and expertise to a wide range of food establishments and retailers AGAR has seen tremendous growth by offering other nonfood items for independent restaurants. AGAR continues to serve the New England foodservice
industry under the third-generation leadership of Karen Bressler. AGAR also is the second largest women-led businesses in Massachusetts, ranked by revenue.

Contact AGAR at 800-669-6040 or http://www.agarsupply.com/


The Greater Boston Food Bank distributes approximately 30 million pounds of food and grocery products annually to more than 600 hunger-relief agencies in a dedicated partnership to end hunger in eastern Massachusetts. The Food Bank serves 83,000 people each week. For more information about The Greater Boston Food Bank, visit our Web sites at www.gbfb.org and www.newfoodbank.org, or call 617-427-5200.