FRANKLIN—Farm Fresh’s acquisition of Parker Drug’s pharmacy in December 2009 resulted in prescriptions jumping from 300 a week to 1,500 to 1,700 a week.

The pharmacy staff at the Armory Drive grocery store also grew from three to nine, of whom six came from Parker Drug.

The effort to make for a smooth transition earned Franklin’s Farm Fresh the Pharmacy Team of the Year award. The award also was given to the pharmacy — one of 39 in Hampton Roads — for its customer services and sales.

“We are very proud of our efforts,” said Franklin Farm Fresh pharmacy manager Kim Pope. “We’ve been working hard since the acquisition took place, and we’ve gone on from there.”

District Manager Michelle Harmon, a Capron resident who oversees pharmacies for 20 Farm Fresh stores in Virginia and North Carolina, called the honor “very significant.”

“I was excited for them. The whole team has to be engaged in the successful operation of the pharmacy,” Harmon said. “It (the merger) was a challenge, but everyone worked well together.”

Farm Fresh purchased the prescription files of Parker Drug and hired Ed Canada, its pharmacist and former co-owner of the downtown Franklin drug store. The Parker Drug gift shop and soda fountain were closed about seven months later.

Pope’s team also includes pharmacist Tricia Davis, pharmacy technicians Adrienne Elder, Kelly Gray and Celia Marston; clerks Brenda Marshall and Patty O’Neal; and delivery driver Pete Twisdale.