Keeping pace with Jamaicans looking to maintain optimum health through an active lifestyle, St Mary’s has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Running Events Jamaica to provide healthy snack options at 2023 endurance races.

The collaborative agreement will be in effect until December 2023. Having long committed to the promotion of good nutrition across local communities — St Mary’s will provide its nutritious ripe bananas and pineapples and wide range of snacks to participants at the running events listed on Jamaica’s 2023 Road Running Calendar.

Commenting on the significance of the partnership, Running Events Jamaica’s race director Alfred ‘Frano’ Francis said, “this is a phenomenal partnership”!

“At our core, we are into promoting a healthy lifestyle through running, through healthy eating and also a good state of mind. Where St Mary’s has come in with providing banana chips, ripe bananas and so on, we now have a healthy item to offer our participants at the events,” remarked Francis.

“Bananas especially, are valuable in restoring energy and replacing good nutrients in the body. The relationship with St Mary’s is a strong one, the brand has walked hand-in-hand with Running Events for years and we are extremely happy to forge this partnership. We are thankful to have them at all of our events,” he added.

Patrons can expect to benefit from St Mary’s vitamin-rich fruits and trans-fat-free snacks at a total of 12 events this year under the MOU, with the first event being the European Union – Jamaica 5K in Downtown on Sunday (March 12).

According to Gayon Douglas, brand manager at JP Farms, “this partnership comes at the right time as people are feeling more comfortable returning to outdoor events and St Mary’s is looking forward to walking hand-in-hand with Jamaicans on their health journeys. We’ve been looking for ways to engage in meaningful partnerships that benefit the health of our population and the formalisation of our long-standing relationship with Running Events is an extension of that.”

St Mary’s, a subsidiary of Jamaica Producers Group, produces a range of tropical foods sold in the snacks, fresh produce, baked and frozen categories.