Manomet trustees, councilors, supporters and staff gathered at the headquarters campus for the annual Summerfest event, celebrating Manomet’s successes over the past year. The event welcomed 110 guests and featured a dinner presentation about one of the organization’s newest programs – the Grocery Stewardship Certification (GSC).

 

The featured speakers were GSC Program Manager Peter Cooke and Kasey Harris, sustainability programs specialist for Hannaford Supermarkets. Cooke took the guests on a virtual grocery store walk-through, explaining what can be made more sustainable. He told the crowd that Americans visit the grocery store an average of 88 times per year.

 

“The event was great and we were happy to explain how we can make a difference in this huge and pervasive sector of the economy,” Cooke said. “We launched this program with Hannaford as our pilot company and we were honored that Kasey joined us to celebrate the GSC’s success.”  

 

The certification program aims to make grocery stores more sustainable by reducing water use, food waste and energy consumption and by increasing employee engagement. The GSC is the first grocery sustainability certification system.

 

“The GSC and our partnership with Hannaford is a great example of how Manomet leverages science by working with others who are in a strong position to move the needle on sustainability,” said Manomet President John Hagan. “Summerfest is a chance for us to celebrate and thank our wonderful supporters. I’m glad everyone had a chance to hear about one of our fastest growing programs.”

 

This year’s Summerfest was sponsored by Rockland Trust and Rogers & Gray Insurance. This year guests also bid, in a silent auction, on items donated by staff, supporters and area businesses. The silent auction lineup included four framed shorebird photographs by Manomet Conservation Specialist Brad Winn, a customized birding trip with Manomet Banding Director Trevor Lloyd-Evans, a Maine boat trip courtesy of Laughing Gull Boat Charters, Captain John Whale Watching tickets out of Plymouth (MA) harbor and an exclusive fly fishing trip courtesy of Manomet Councilor, Jon Nash.

 

– Marina Duchesneau