BEAVERTON, Ore., Oct. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- This holiday season, Oregon Food Bank and Natural Grocers (NYSE: NGVC) are teaming up to provide hunger relief and emergency food for Portland-area families in need during the holidays. For every turkey purchased by customers of the Beaverton Natural Grocers store, the company will donate a 12-pound bird to Oregon Food Bank to add cheer in holiday food boxes.

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"Natural Grocers will be donating high quality naturally-raised turkeys to Oregon families in need," says Kemper Isely, Co-President of Natural Grocers. "The holidays are a special time of year for families, but can be especially difficult for families with limited resources. This buy one/give one free offer is a simple and effective way for our customers to help out another family in a healthy way."

Oregon Food Bank will distribute the donated birds during the 2013 holiday season. In cases where a whole bird is not needed, or a vegetarian option is required, Natural Grocers has offered to donate $30 cash instead. The buy one/give one free turkey offer is part of Natural Grocers' ongoing commitment to providing emergency food relief across the nation. The company donates five cents to Oregon Food Bank each time local customers check out using their own reusable bags, and runs a donation campaign for two months each year with a healthy $50,000 dollar-for-dollar match. In addition, all excess and distressed food items are donated to local food banks. 

The need for emergency food remains at record high levels across the U.S. – and particularly in Oregon. In an average month, an estimated 270,000 people in Oregon and Clark County, Wash., eat meals from an emergency food box. 

"We are happy to have a new local grocery partner to help to support our efforts," said Susannah Morgan, Oregon Food Bank's CEO. "Natural Grocers has a long history of providing both food and cash donations to food banks across our country. It's a good example of how a grocer can involve communities across the country to help neighbors in need. And it's a good reminder that ordinary people can make an extraordinary difference by becoming involved with their communities to raise awareness and take action."

Krysti Weddle, manager of the Natural Grocers store in Beaverton, reminds customers that turkeys need to be pre-ordered now, well in advance of Thanksgiving. "These are not hard-frozen birds from factory farms. They are naturally raised without antibiotics or growth promoters, and they are delivered just-in-time. Customers who want to take advantage of the buy one/give free one turkey offer need to reserve a turkey now at the store or on our web site. We'll take care of the rest." The turkey pre-ordering page can be found at http://www.naturalgrocers.com/store-locations/beaverton-oregon/OR/turkeys.

Natural Grocers offers only natural and organic products on its shelves. Shoppers will find only USDA-certified organic produce and meats from animals raised naturally without the use of antibiotics or hormones. The affordable grocery chain also offers an extensive natural dietary supplement and body care department, and a large selection of gluten-free and other products for special diets.

Natural Grocers has some of the highest standards for a grocer in the country, and is equally as well known for what it does not sell: it will not carry foods that contain artificial ingredients such as colors, sweeteners, flavors, preservatives, hydrogenated oils, antibiotics, hormones, or produce grown with synthetic pesticides. (See: "What We Won't Sell and Why.")

Beaverton Natural Grocers is open Monday through Saturday from 8:56 a.m. to 8:04 p.m. On Sunday the store will be open from 9:56 a.m. to 7:06 p.m. 

About Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC), founded in Colorado by Margaret & Philip Isely in 1955, was built on the premise that consumers should have access to affordable, high-quality foods and dietary supplements, along with nutrition knowledge to help them support their own health. The family-run store has since grown into a successful national chain with locations across Colorado, Texas, Utah, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Missouri, New Mexico, Montana, Kansas, Idaho, Nebraska, Arizona and Oregon—employing over 2000 people.  The company went public in July 2012; however, Isely family members continue to manage the company, building on the foundation of their parents' business. Natural Grocers' popularity and success can be traced back to its founding principles: providing customers with high quality products at every day affordable prices. See store for details on buy one/give one free turkey offer. 

SOURCE Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc.