Our Commitment to the Arizona Community  

The Marana greenhouse works to not only help the global community fight hunger, but also supports the local community in Arizona. Whether it is helping fund a Tucson Audubon Society education program, organizing a donation drive for the Humane Society of Southern Arizona, or helping feed local families in need, the Marana greenhouse strives to lift the local community. 

The Marana greenhouse also supports the southern Arizona community by employing over 140 community members. After just one year of full operation, the greenhouse was already voted the 2021 best place to work in Marana.  

To learn more about the Marana greenhouse and the events happening, sign up for our quarterly newsletter here. 

Bayer Marana participates in Day of Kindness event

Bayer Marana participated in the most recent "Day of Kindness" event that was recognized all around the world. One main purpose of the day is to highlight good deeds in your community. It focuses on positivity and the common thread of kindness that binds us.

As part of our commitment to extending our thread to the Tucson community, we brought in Ben's Bells, a well-known non-profit community kindness project in Tucson. Kindness coins, paint and supplies were provided to Bayer Marana staff from the Ben’s Bells organization. Team members were able to take a break during their workday to sit and paint each coin by hand while supporting the cause.

Ben’s Bells are handmade coin-sized ceramic wind chimes. The chimes are made to spread joy and encourage others to practice kindness in their community. The decorated coins are typically found hanging in random locations with kindness notes of encouragement across the Tucson area.

As of 2021, more than 71,000 Ben’s Bells have been painted with more being added every day. The non-profit is also active in Phoenix, and Connecticut. The primary message of Ben’s Bells is to "Be Kind" and engage with your community. The 20-year anniversary was celebrated in 2022. To find out more, go to https://bensbells.org/.

Bayer Marana volunteers help to fill food bags for students in Sahuarita

Bayer is connecting with the community and part of that is supporting the company’s vision of “Health for All, Hunger for None."  Volunteers from the Marana greenhouse recently spent their morning at the new community food bank building in Sahuarita to lend a hand and help put food packages together for students from across the area. 

The new ultra-modern facility is an upgrade to the old food bank that was started in 2009 inside the Good Shepard United Church of Christ next door. The food bank says its mission has always been to “Strive to meet the nutritional needs of the hungry through the acquisition and distribution of healthy food. In collaboration with community partners and clients.”  The organization also addresses the causes of hunger through education, workforce education coaching and other human services. According to the food bank, one out of four residents in Southern Pima County lives in economic insufficiency and one in ten lives in poverty.  

We would also like to give a special thanks to our volunteers Stefanie Boe, Deb Asencio, Stevey De La Ossa, Elly Williams, Daniel Rivera, Shawndrea Thomas, and all the wonderful volunteers at the facility. The team spent part of their day putting hundreds of bags of food together for kids to take home, as some kids in the area get most of their meals at school. These efforts will help feed at least 450 students at 8 local schools over the weekend outside of school hours. Those in need of food can also visit the site twice a month if needed. The location at 17750 La Canada Drive is designed like a grocery store that allows visitors to make their selections in a familiar setting.   

The Bayer group also toured the community resource center on site and found out about other available programs in place to help serve the people of Sahuarita. The center offers job preparation training including computer, English, nursing, and cooking classes.    

The Bayer Marana team nominated the food bank for a Bayer Fund grant, and the facility was awarded $10,000 to help the organization in its efforts to build the community. The team is also looking forward to doing more work with the food bank in the future. Volunteers and donations are always welcome.  

https://www.sahuaritafoodbank.org/