Stop & Shop has brought back its third annual register campaign for its charitable giving initiative – the Stop & Shop School Food Pantry Program. The program works with schools to establish and support in-school food pantries to ensure kids don’t have to go to school hungry.
Through Sept. 7, shoppers can donate or round up at checkout to help even more students fight hunger.
According to the USDA, one in five children in the U.S. face hunger. In-school pantries offer safe, familiar and judgment-free spaces where students and their families can get support without stigma. Placing pantries where students already feel comfortable helps break down barriers to access brain-fueling, nutritious foods.
Stop & Shop has invested more than $7 million to date to help fight food insecurity among students and their families through this program. The Stop & Shop School Food Pantry Program partners with more than 260 schools and provides access to nutritious foods for more than 440,000 students and their families. The program supports pre-k through college-age students and their families across the brand’s five-state footprint of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island.
“A growing number of economic challenges has made the need for school food pantries greater than ever,” said Roger Wheeler, president of Stop & Shop.
“As a neighborhood grocer, we feel a deep responsibility to support the communities we serve, and that starts with ensuring students have access to the food they need to thrive. Hunger affects a child’s ability to focus, learn and succeed. No student should have to sit in a classroom distracted by an empty stomach or uncertain about their next meal. With this campaign, we’re inviting our customers to help us fill our school pantries, helping us to fuel brighter futures.”
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The impact of this program is best seen in the communities Stop & Shop serves — like at the Angelo Patri Middle School, where it’s become a lifeline for hundreds of families.
“At M.S. 391, the Angelo Patri Middle School community is at the heart of everything we do. Thanks to the generous support of Stop & Shop, we are able to keep Our Happy Place Pantry stocked and thriving. This partnership helps us provide essential support to 352 families, including the more than 30 percent of our students who are in temporary housing and depend on our pantry as a vital resource,” said Danny Rivera, community school director at the Bronx, New York, school.
“Together, we are not just sharing food, we are sharing hope, stability and a reminder that no one in our school community stands alone. We are deeply grateful to Stop & Shop for standing with us and making a meaningful difference in the lives of our families and community.”
The program is made possible in part thanks to the support of Stop & Shop’s vendor partners, who help ensure the school pantries are stocked. Premier program partners include The Campbell’s Co., which provides a variety of soup offerings; Flowers Foods, which provides Dave’s Killer Bread; General Mills, which supports with its family of brands, including Cheerios; and The Coca-Cola Co., which contributes smartwater.