Our friends at Stop & Shop work tirelessly to help us close the nutrition gap for more than 900,000 New Jersey neighbors in need, during the summer and year-round.
In July, they came to the FoodBank to volunteer their time sorting food in our warehouse and to present the funds raised during their Food For Friends campaign, which ran for two months this summer.
“Stop & Shop is proud of its partnership with the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, and we are honored to be a part of the impact they make, especially through campaigns like Food for Friends,” said Stefanie Shuman, External Communications Manager for Stop & Shop. “Our recent Food for Friends campaign, which sought to help the FoodBank fight summer hunger through donations at checkout, raised nearly $90,000 thanks to the generosity of our customers and associates.”
The campaign allowed shoppers to add $1, $3, $5 to their grocery bill to benefit their local food bank. The incredible $90,000 collected in our service area will provide 270,000 meals to our neighbors in need.
Along with Food for Friends, Stop & Shop donated over 200,000 pounds of meat last year through their Meat the Needs program. This program secures meat for our neighbors in need to provide them with the tools to eat well-balanced meals. In keeping with our Hunger as a Health Issue initiatives, this ensures that our struggling neighbors are living healthier lives and that the children who need it the most are getting the right foods to help them grow.
They also take part in our Supermarket Gleaning Program, which rescues food that can’t be sold due to minor damage or code date issues, and they donate funds to our child feeding programs through the Stop & Shop Family Foundation as part of their initiatives to improve the lives of children and build healthy communities.
“Stop & Shop is a crucial supporter of our child feeding programs and an incredible partner year-round,” said Carlos Rodriguez, President & CEO of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey. “While Food for Friends used to be a holiday program, our partners at Stop & Shop saw the increased need that we face over the summer and tailored their campaign to a time of year when donations are scarcer than usual.”