Wakefern Food Corp. is marking Earth Month with the 2026 Greener Stores, Greener Communities Earth Month Challenge, a month-long initiative encouraging family-owned ShopRite stores across the cooperative to highlight eco-friendly practices that reduce environmental impact, engage associates and support the communities they serve.
The Earth Month Challenge focuses on practical, everyday actions in stores and surrounding communities that engage customers and associates around recycling, waste reduction and energy conservation. As part of the initiative, Wakefern hosted a volunteer clean-up on April 22 at Old Bridge Waterfront Park, while providing supplies for ShopRite stores that planned similar cleanups.
“Earth Month is an opportunity to celebrate the sustainability work already happening in our stores while inspiring new ideas that can make an impact every day,” said Alexandra Emery, manager of sustainability and corporate social responsibility for Wakefern and ShopRite. “This challenge empowers our teams to take action in ways that are achievable and meaningful for their stores and communities.”
The four-week Earth Month Challenge includes the following focus areas:
- Recycling and waste reduction – Stores are encouraged to improve recycling accuracy through refreshed signage, recycling audits and team training, while also engaging customers with in-store education programs, including plastic bag and film recycling.
- Energy and water conservation – Teams reinforce energy- and water-saving practices already built into daily operations, such as monitoring refrigeration systems, reducing unnecessary lighting and identifying small operational changes that can drive meaningful resource conservation.
- Community and green team engagement / Earth Day activities – Centered around Earth Day on April 22, stores are encouraged to hold local cleanups, park beautification projects and in-store Earth Month celebrations, with store Green Teams leading planning and associate engagement.
- Waste diversion and donations – The final week highlights ShopRite’s commitment to reducing food waste through composting, recycling and food donations. Stores are encouraged to refresh training, revisit waste diversion practices, explore new donation opportunities and share how surplus food supports local hunger-relief organizations.
- Commitment to sustainability – For more than 50 years, ShopRite and Wakefern have supported initiatives that reduce food waste, expand recycling and improve energy efficiency. ShopRite stores have diverted millions of tons of material from landfills, developed strong food waste reduction and food donation programs, invested in energy-saving technologies such as natural refrigerants and solar power, and installed electric vehicle charging stations at participating locations.
Many stores also maintain active Green Teams that identify opportunities to operate more sustainably and partner with local environmental and community organizations on efforts ranging from cleanups to tree plantings and community gardens.
“Every improvement — big or small — adds up,” Emery added. “When our teams lead by example, it strengthens trust with our customers and helps build cleaner, healthier and more resilient communities.”
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