Stop & Shop donates more than $29 million in 2012

Company announces new $6 million commitment to fight child hunger

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Feb 20, 2013, 02:00 ET

PURCHASE, N.Y. and QUINCY, Mass., Feb. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company LLC announced today more than $29 million was donated in 2012 through customer, vendor and associate donations to local organizations in hundreds of communities in which Stop & Shop operates. Stop & Shop's charitable mission focuses on fighting hunger and promoting healthy communities: $14 million went toward supporting local hunger relief agencies; $10 million supported programs that helped fund pediatric cancer research, educate thousands of children around nutrition and to promote physical activity; $5 million supported programs to help sustain communities in times of crisis and through every day need.

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"Stop & Shop wishes to thank our generous customers, giving associates, and our giving vendor partners who help us make a difference every day in our communities," said Joe Kelley, president, Stop & Shop New England Division. "We're humbled to be able to give back and will continue to do all we can to help our neighbors in need."

Stop & Shop recognizes the important role it can play in helping to eradicate hunger. As a first step for 2013, Stop & Shop is announcing a new three-year commitment to distribute $6 million in "Fighting Child Hunger" grants from Our Family Foundation.

As part of this initiative, multi-year grants have been awarded to 16 regional food banks and hunger relief related agencies served by Stop & Shop. Each grant recipient submitted a proposal addressing how they believed a "Fighting Child Hunger" grant could best be used to feed more children. These grants target communities with significant need in order to provide healthy meals to children through child care, after school, mobile pantries, and summer programs, as well as other innovative approaches.

"Programs of this nature underscore Stop & Shop's commitment to the communities we serve and families who are in need," said Don Sussman, President of Stop & Shop New York Metro Division. "The close relationships that Stop & Shop has built with these neighborhood-based organizations allow us to make sure that every dollar we donate will be spent wisely and that any family in need will be served by organizations who are experts in the fight against hunger."

Editor's Note: A complete listing of the grant recipients can be found below.

About Stop & Shop
The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company LLC employs approximately 62,000 associates and operates more than 400 stores throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New York, and New Jersey. The company helps support local communities fight hunger, combat childhood cancer and promote general health and wellness – with emphasis on children's educational and support programs. In its commitment to be a sustainable company, Stop & Shop is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council and EPA's Smart Way program; has been awarded LEED (EB) certifications for 50 of its existing stores; and has been recognized by the EPA for the superior energy management of its stores. Stop & Shop is an Ahold company. To learn more about Stop & Shop, visit www.stopandshop.com.

Stop & Shop New York Metro Division

Food Bank/Organization	Location Coverage Area	Summary of Grant
Connecticut Food Bank	East Haven, CT Fairfield, New Haven, New London, Middlesex, Windham & Litchfield counties	Launch Groceries on Wheels, a mobile food pantry with perishables targeting low-income families with young children
Community Food Bank of NJ	Hillside, NJ All NJ except Salem, Gloucester & Camden counties	Expand Pediatric Pantry Program, a partnership with hospitals in low-income neighborhoods to "prescribe" healthy produce for young children in need; expand Alternative Meals Kids Cafe Program, which provides healthy meals at after-school sites without access to kitchen facilities.
Long Island Cares	Hauppauge, NY Nassau & Suffolk counties	Expand Kids Cafe afterschool food and mentoring program, transition Snack Programs to full meal programs, and establish new Snack Programs in preparation for transition to full meal programs where possible.
Island Harvest	Mineola, NY Nassau & Suffolk counties	Provide fresh produce and nutrition education to child-centered member agencies
Food Bank of New York City	New York, NY Five boroughs of New York City	Establish a monthly School Pantry Program at a high-need school in either Staten Island or Queens.
Food Bank of Hudson Valley	Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY Orange, Ulster, Dutchess, Rockland, Putnam & Sullivan counties	Establish and grow a School BackPack Program.
Food Bank for Westchester	Elmsford, NY Westchester County	Expand School BackPack Program.
Food Bank of Monmouth & Ocean Counties	Neptune, NJ Monmouth & Ocean counties	Increase the capacity of local pantries that serve large numbers of children to store and distribute fresh produce and other perishables; increase participation in the School BackPack program.
End Hunger Connecticut	Hartford, CT Statewide	Increase access to afterschool and summer meal programs to increase participation; provide small grants to programs to improve nutritional quality and use of fresh produce.

Stop & Shop New England Division

Food Bank/Organization	Location & Coverage Area	Summary of Grant
Greater Boston Food Bank	Boston, MA Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Essex, Middlesex, Nantucket, Norfolk, Plymouth, & Suffolk counties	Transition BackPack Program to school-based food pantries; expand mobile WIC distributions.
Rhode Island Food Bank	Providence, RI Statewide	Increase participation at Summer Food Service Programs by addressing gaps in service at the end of the school year, increasing the number of sites in underserved areas, and creating program efficiencies.
Foodshare Inc. (CT)	Bloomfield, CT Hartford & Tolland counties	Strengthen and expand community level task force program called Hunger Action Teams to identify and address unmet child hunger needs in communities.
Food Bank of Western MA	Hatfield, MA Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden counties	Research, plan and launch a mobile food pantry that targets organizations working with children and young families.
New Hampshire Food Bank	Manchester, NH Statewide	Add another 10 mobile food pantry deliveries at youth-serving organizations, timed to cover the gap between the end of school and the start of summer feeding programs.
Worcester County Food Bank	Shrewsbury, MA Worcester County	Establish a mobile summer meals program in partnership with the Worcester Public Schools to deliver meals directly to children in low-income neighborhoods.
Project Bread (MA)	Boston, MA Statewide	Expand and improve Summer Food Service Program sites in Massachusetts through small grants and technical assistance to sites, increased use of recovered produce, and public outreach to improve participation.