Member Spotlight: New Seasons Market
As the World's first B-Corp grocery store, New Seasons Market has stood with a commitment to encouraging local communities to participate in creating a more sustainable world through a series of programs and campaigns since 2013.
The Beginning
Founded in 2000 by three families and fifty friends with the goal of building a community gathering place with the best regional food and those who produce it, New seasons opened its doors with the commitment to being the friendliest store in town with an outstanding shopping experience. Over 20 years later, New Seasons has remained true to these commitments and partnered with hundreds of local producers in the Portland community as a testament to their generosity
Becoming a B-Corp
In 2013, at a time when holding a B-corp title was still a niche idea, New Seasons became the first grocery retailer to achieve it. WIth an initial B-Impact score of 121, which was 24 points above the average at the time, New Seasons has had a long-standing dedication to social and environmental impact across the PNW. Longstanding CEO Nancy Lebold said in an interview, “at the heart of New Seasons Market is our Staff and our Customers.” This was the original founding idea and still holds up today after years of expansion with a current B-Impact score of 81.9, which is still well above average, and multiple efforts to give back to staff and community.
Community Commitment
Through New Seasons' long-standing commitment to community involvement rose this idea of Customers Coming Together. Through various fundraising programs designed to enrich the community, customers of New Seasons Market raised $864,500 that’s been focused at enriching the local community. This care has trickled down into the staff as well with some of the friendliest and dedicated employees throughout all locations and donating over 849 paid volunteer hours, showing the dedication to the community and civic engagement.
What do these contributions and programs look like?
Bag it Forward: In Oregon, 1 in 5 people struggle with food insecurity. New Seasons believes that comfortable access to food is a basic human right. This is why the Bag it Forward program was created, donating 5 cents to local non profits that directly combat hunger and food insecurity each time you use a reusable bag at checkout. Since its start in 2016, it has raised $2,262,866, a number that wouldn’t be possible without the support of the incredible and dedicated New Seasons customer base.
Donate Dinner: Every November, when the autumn leaves are falling and Thanksgiving is just around the corner, New Seasons has a special appreciation for the seniors in our community. During this time, New Seasons accepts meal donations that are passed off to the HomeBound seniors to guarantee the people that built our communities don't experience hunger or social isolation. In 2023 alone, this program brought 41,000 meals to our senior community, a direct testament to the care of the New Seasons staff and customers.
Nourish our Neighbors: Another program directed towards battling food insecurity is the Nourish our Neighbors program. This program allows customers to donate an amount of their choosing at checkout and gives these funds to non-profits approved directly by New Seasons for their contributions. This is kicked off annually through the match week event where New Seasons matches every dollar donated up to $42,000.
Cans for Kids: At every neighborhood New Seasons customers can drop off recyclable cans or bottles where the redeemable 10-cent credit is directly donated to six school foundations in our local communities.
New Leaf Bloom 1% for Youth: New Seasons’ house wellness brand, New Leaf Bloom, is dedicated to ensuring your health but also the health of our youth. Offering over 450 wellness products, with each one being third party tested for potency and purity, it would be difficult to find one that wouldn’t fuel your day. Along with this, 1% of sales of New Leaf Bloom is given directly to community partners that support youth in the Portland Metro area.
Gift It!: For New Seasons, one of the most rewarding aspects of being a neighborhood grocer is giving back to the community. Through the New Seasons “Gift It!” program members earn points as they shop. Once you earn enough points you earn a reward which you can choose to keep or donate back to the community. Since the launch in 2020, over $139,000 has been donated to local organizations.
All of these programs are a direct testament to the dedication New Seasons has to supporting their local community. A company that has surely earned the title of 2025 Sustainability Retailer of the Year.