GraceKennedy (GK) Foods has been showing Jamaican nurses that ‘We Care’ through a series of initiatives recognising their sterling contribution to the nation’s COVID-19 response. The activities were executed by Grace Foods under the theme ‘Taste that Moves You to Care’ theme between August 30 and September 17 and included donations of Grace products valued at over J$1.35 million to nurses working in Jamaica’s public health sector.


During a visit to the Holborn Road offices of the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ) in Kingston on Wednesday, September 1, Frank James, CEO of GK Foods – Domestic commended the hard work and sacrifice of the island’s nurses, saying, “To our nurses and other healthcare workers, we salute you. The fact that you have dedicated your lives to serving and taking care of your fellow Jamaicans in their most vulnerable moments means the world to us at Grace Foods. This is just a small token of appreciation for the courage and immense sacrifice you have displayed while working on the frontline.”

Members of the GraceKennedy (GK) Foods team and representatives of the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ) during a GK Foods visit to the NAJ’s Offices on Holborn Road in Kingston on September 1, 2021. GK Foods presented NAJ’s leadership with gift packages containing Grace products, and gift vouchers from Hi-Lo Food Stores for 100 nurses stationed at various locations across the island.

During the visit to the NAJ the GK Foods team presented gift packages, and gift vouchers from Hi-Lo Food Stores for 100 nurses stationed at various locations across the island. Nurses expressed their appreciation for the gifts they received from the initiatives and used the occasion to encourage their colleagues and others to get vaccinated against COVID-19. “COVID is real and right now we are grieving because we have lost some of our colleagues, and we don’t want to see another citizen or another colleague go to COVID,” said Nurse Lillian Coke, RNM at Bustamante Hospital for Children.

(L-R) Frank James, CEO- GK Foods Domestic Business, joins Andrea Graham, Chief Category Manager, Hi-Lo Food Stores; Patsy Edwards Henry, President of the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ); and Magion Stephenson, Deputy General Manager Grace Foods & Services (GFS) during GK Foods’ presentation of gift packages and gift certificates for Jamaican nurses at the NAJ Offices on September 1, 2021

Then on Thursday, September 2, GK Foods teamed up with local celebrity couple Tami Chin and Wayne Marshall, media personality Terri-Karelle Reid and Toyota Jamaica to recognize the hard work of nurses at two of Jamaica’s major hospitals: Kingston Public Hospital and the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI). Grace products were included in gift packages presented to 120 nurses at both hospitals.

Donations of hundreds of cases of Catherine’s Peak Pure Spring Water and Grace Mighty Malt were also made to the Mandeville Regional Hospital, May Pen Hospital, Cornwall Regional Hospital, Noel Holmes Hospital (Lucea), Falmouth Public General Hospital and the Savanna-la-mar Public General Hospital between August 30 and September 17.

(L-R) Ricardo Smith, Channel Programmes & Promotions Manager, Grace Foods & Services (GFS) with Patsy Edwards Henry, President of the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ) during a visit by GraceKennedy (GK) Foods to the NAJ’s Offices on Holborn Road in Kingston on September 1, 2021. GK Foods presented the NAJ with gift packages containing Grace products, and Hi-Lo Food Stores gift vouchers for 100 Jamaican nurses.

CEO of the GK Group, Don Wehby explained, “We live by our ‘We Care’ mantra at GK, and the GK Foods ‘Taste that Moves You to Care’ campaign is just the most recent embodiment of this. Our Group remains committed to supporting the communities we serve, especially at a time when their need is so great. Throughout the pandemic we have launched several initiatives to support our nation’s COVID-19 response, including donations towards the purchase of personal protective equipment (PPE) and ventilators for the public health system, digital devices for online learning for teachers and students, as well as care packages and meals for frontline workers and communities. We also recently made a donation to the University Hospital of the West Indies’ emergency expansion project to cover the cost of one of 19 fully equipped modular hard-wall tent structures which will be added to its Accident and Emergency area to help manage the current surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations.”