Peapod.com Teams With New Jersey Classrooms To Fight Hunger

QUINCY, Mass., June 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- As the school year comes to a close, Peapod, the country's leading online grocery service, is proud to announce results of a successful program to team  with 4^th and 5^th grade classrooms throughout New Jersey to donate more than $2,500 in food deliveries to community food banks and pantries. Called Kids Give Back, the Peapod initiative began in 2010 and has worked with more than 30 schools since inception to donate to food banks in Peapod's service areas.

As a part of the program, Peapod shared its Kids Give Back lesson plan that outlines the healthy and nutritious foods available on Peapod.com and how those items could be donated to students' local food banks.  Kids also learned valuable math and budgeting skills as they tried to order as much healthy food as possible for their local food banks. Once the students placed their orders, Peapod fulfilled the requests and delivered the students' orders right to the selected food pantries' doors.

"Our Kids Give Back initiative has given us a great opportunity to educate our local communities about the wonderful nutritional shopping tools available on Peapod.com while at the same time giving students an opportunity to learn about smart food choices and the value of community service," said Peg Merzbacher, Peapod's Director of Marketing.

Through an online grant application form, Peapod was able to identify the following classrooms to participate in 2013-2014 school year program in New Jersey. Students and teachers then identified the food pantry in their community they wished to support.

• Ironia Elementary School in Randolph, NJ: Ms. Cirella's 5^th grade students donated to Morris County Interfaith Food Pantry
• George Washington School in Hillside, NJ: Ms. DaSilva's 5^th grade students donated to Community FoodBank of New Jersey
• Lincoln-Hubbard School in Summit, New Jersey: Ms. Branchflower's 4^th grade students donated to St. Teresa Food Bank
• Academy of Our Lady in Glen Rock, NJ: Ms. Clesca's 4th grade students donated to Catholic Charities Emergency Food and Nutrition Network
• Academy of Saint Therese in Cresskill, NJ: Ms. Ryan's 5^th grade students donated to Office of Concern at St. Cecelia Parish
• Lafayette School in Chatham, NJ: Ms. Coleman's 4^th grade students donated to Community FoodBank of New Jersey
• Jefferson Elementary School in Westfield, NJ: Ms. Hahn's 5^th grade students donated to Holy Trinity Food Pantry
• E. Roy Bixby School in Bogota, NJ: Ms. Demetrakis' 5^th grade students donated to Center for Food Action
• 6 School in Cliffside Park, NJ: Ms. Krystal Pino's 4^th grade students donated to Center for Food Action
• Trenton Catholic Academy in Hamilton, NJ: Ms. DiCosimo's 4^th grade students donated to Mount Carmel Guild

"The students are still raving about the experience they had! After we completed our Peapod presentation and lessons, we implemented an additional task for the students to use a $10 budget to plan, fundraise, and shop for a wholesome meal for family of four. Using their knowledge, students met the challenge. Overall, it was a great way to put our service lessons into action," said Joan Cirella from Ironia Elementary School in Randolph, New Jersey.

Remarking on the Ironia Elementary School program, Doug McMahon of the Interfaith Food Pantry and member of its Community Relations Committee, said, "It was great to see the class so excited by their donations to the pantry. It was such fun watching them as the Peapod truck was unloaded and then searching the bins for "their" products. Overall, what a great learning experience!"

Peapod will continue to donate to food banks through its Kids Give Back program in the fall 2014 school year. To learn more about Peapod, visit www.peapod.com or Facebook.com/PeapodDelivers

About Peapod
Peapod  – an Ahold USA company – is the country's leading Internet grocer, serving 24 U.S. markets throughout Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Wisconsin. Founded in 1989 as a smart shopping option for busy households, today Peapod has delivered more than 26 million grocery orders. Customers can order online or on Peapod's free mobile app for delivery to homes and workplaces or pick-up at many convenient locations. For more information on Peapod, call 1.800.5.PEAPOD (1.800.573.2763), e-mail [email protected] or visit www.peapod.com.

SOURCE Peapod