Stop & Shop Gives Thanks - 22 Million Times

QUINCY, Mass. and PURCHASE, N.Y., March 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company LLC today announced 2011 as a benchmark year of commitment to alleviating hunger, supporting health and wellness initiatives with emphasis on healthy kids, as well as developing partnerships to support local communities. In total, the Stop & Shop New England and New York Metro Divisions and its customers were able to give back more than $22 million in 2011 into the hundreds of communities in which they operate.

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"Stop & Shop is thankful to have customers, associates, and partners who care about making a difference in the communities we serve," said Mark McGowan, president, Stop & Shop New England Division. "The need is great everywhere – from providing meals to those who are going hungry or ensuring our kids grow to be healthy, productive adults. With the power of all of us coming together, we were able to make a real impact and truly help change lives last year. Stop & Shop cannot thank everyone enough for their unending generosity."

Over the course of 2011, Stop & Shop donated more than $10 million toward hunger relief which translated to hundreds of thousands of pounds of food, the equivalent of more than 80 million meals according to Feeding America. This was accomplished through the following programs.

• Ongoing customer product donations and Stop & Shop store and warehouse product donations to local food pantries and regional food banks.
  
  
• Stop & Shop's 22nd annual Food for Friends campaign which ran last October through December where customers contributed donations of $1, $3 or $5 at checkout registers, as well as purchasing and donating "charity boxes" or "trimmings bags" filled with Stop & Shop Own Brands items. Sixty percent of the money raised was donated to a local hunger relief agency or food pantry each store adopts; forty percent was donated to regional food banks. The "charity boxes" and "trimmings bags" were also donated directly to local food pantries or regional food banks.
  
  Fourteen regional food banks received the following amounts from Food for Friends: The Greater Boston Food Bank – $220,404; Connecticut Food Bank – $125,319; Foodshare – $92,320; Rhode Island Community Food Bank – $72,765; Community Food Bank of New Jersey – $69,733; Food Bank for New York City – $54,155; Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties – $39,405; Worcester County Food Bank – $36,231; Food Bank of Western Mass. – $45,288; Long Island Cares – $43,200; Island Harvest – $26,563; Food Bank of Hudson Valley – $19,267; New Hampshire Food Bank – $16,551; and Food Bank of Westchester County – $15,611.
  
  
• In addition, Stop & Shop's Turkey Express program delivered 20,000 turkeys to fifteen local organizations to help provide thousands of holiday meals.

"Stop & Shop believes in a philosophy of giving back locally. We know we can make the greatest impact on our communities by supporting causes that are important to our customers right in their own neighborhoods.  Stop & Shop remains committed to helping alleviate hunger, support health and wellness and create new partnerships to support and strengthen the communities we serve," said Don Sussman, president, Stop & Shop New York Metro Division.

In addition to hunger relief, Stop & Shop donated approximately $12 million to community organizations throughout the Northeast to support health and wellness programs, education, and to help individuals and families in the communities it serves. Several 2011 highlights include the following:

• The 21st annual Triple Winner game hit Stop & Shop stores in April. Triple Winner is one of the most successful cause-marketing programs in the nation and each year, Stop & Shop associates and customers join together to fight pediatric cancer. In 2011, Stop & Shop raised $2.5 million for the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and $1.5 million for Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York.
  
  
• United Way received donations of more than $1 million which included both associate and company contributions.
  
  
• Stop & Shop awarded $1 million to thousands of local schools in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York and New Jersey as a result of its 2010-2011 A+ School Rewards program.
  
  
• Through Our Family Foundation by Stop & Shop, we supported the Hockomock Area YMCA, Greater Boston Area YMCA of Massachusetts, YMCA Greater Bergen County and YMCA of Middlesex County to tackle critical health and wellness issues affecting the region's youth.
  
  
• The American Red Cross received approximately $128,000 in donations toward disaster relief.
  
  
• Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) received donations of more than $600,000 in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York and New Jersey which included both customer and company contributions.  
  
  
• During National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, Stop & Shop, Proctor & Gamble, General Mills, Stop & Shop Own Brands and other participating vendors came together to donate more than $200,000 to breast cancer organizations including the American Cancer Society.

Information regarding programs and community partners supported in each local Stop & Shop market is available. Please contact Suzi Robinson (New England area) at 617-774-4434 or Arlene Putterman (New York Metro area) at 914-251-2834.

To learn more about Stop & Shop in the community, visit www.stopandshop.com.

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.

SOURCE Stop & Shop Supermarket Company