For over 100 years, Stop & Shop has been committed to being a better neighbor to New England. This year they will donate over 300,000 holiday meals and $12 million to families in need through their ongoing hunger relief programs such as Turkey Express, Food for Friends and Trimmings Boxes. With the holiday season in full swing, they are encouraging their customers to give back as well – and they asked for my help!
This year, Stop & Shop challenged me to jump-start the holiday season with a pay it forward challenge that enabled me to give back to my community. They asked if they could send me a gift card so that I could go and make a purchase at Stop & Shop and use what I purchased to pay it forward in any way that I chose. How could I say no to that? As soon as I accepted the challenge, I knew exactly who I wanted the donation to go to: The Sacred Heart Food Pantry right in my hometown of Middleboro, MA. There are so many great charities, but I wanted to keep it close to home.
I emailed them to ask for list of what they really needed to stock up on. They emailed back and said that they really needed pancake mix, pancake syrup, canned meals, microwave meals, baked beans, ketchup, mayo, mustard, boxed pasta (not spaghetti or elbows), and soups. That made it really easy when I went into Stop & Shop to make the purchase.
When I got there, I looked at what was on sale so that I could make the most of the money (gift cards) that I was sent.
We ended up getting 80 cans of soup, 10 boxes of pancake mix, 10 bottles of syrup, lots of pasta, mayo, ketchup, mustard and baked beans.
We ended up with a whole cart full food to donate to the food pantry.
Thanks to my three helpers, the process of shopping and checking out went much faster.
I was so happy and thankful that I had a trunk full food to donate by the time I was finished.
In 2015 Stop & Shop has donated over $12 million and 300,000 holiday meals to hunger relief organizations and to those in need.
- Stop & Shop’s commitment to being “Your Neighbor in New England” can be seen through their annual programs centered on promoting good health and giving back to communities.
- Examples include*:
- Hunger relief efforts like Turkey Express and Food for Friends
- Programs that improve the lives of children, including A+ School Rewards and Healthy Kids Summits
- Support of pediatric cancer research with the Triple Winner Game
By learning more about Stop & Shop’s commitment to being a better neighbor, Stop & Shop hopes that their customers and families will be encouraged to bring back random acts of kindness and turn neighbors into friends, and neighborhoods into communities. Their goal is to bring communities together through leading by example – being a better neighbor will inspire others around you to do the same.
I called the food pantry and we were able to drop everything off the same day. The volunteers were so excited and grateful to see all the food we were bringing them.
The Sacred Heart Food Pantry serves the towns of Middleboro, Lakeville, Rochester and Carver. One of the volunteers showed my family the actual pantry and explained how the pantry worked.
The Sacred Heart Food Pantry helps between 400-450 families each month. It was really eye opening for my kids to be able to help in the whole process and I am really thankful that I had the chance for them to experience giving to those in need.
*Stop & Shop Community Programs:
- Turkey Express: This November, Stop & Shop will deliver more than 13,000 turkeys to local hunger relief organizations throughout New England
- Food for Friends: Starting Nov. 6, customers can contribute through in-store donations of $1, $3 or $5 at checkout registers; 100 percent of the funds raised will go directly to community food pantries and regional food banks.
- A+ School Rewards: A program that provides a simple way for schools to earn funds to support school programs and enrichment activities every time a customer makes a purchase using their Stop & Shop card.
- Healthy Kids Summits: Programs that educate families on the importance of nutrition and exercise in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, through partnerships with organizations such as the YMCA, New England Patriots and Fuel up to Play 60.
- Triple Winner Game: Each spring, customers are invited to participate in the Triple Winner Game at the cash registers throughout stores in New England by making a $1 contribution to the Jimmy Fund. This raises funds to support research and care at the Stop & Shop Family Pediatric Brain Tumor Clinic and the Stop & Shop Family Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Outcomes Clinic at Dana-Farber.
Stop & Shop wants to kick off the 2015 holiday season by encouraging all of their neighbors to give back and create a stronger community throughout New England.
Are you planning on giving this holiday season?
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This post, Paying It Forward in My Community Thanks to Stop & Shop #PayitForwardwithSS, originally appeared on Masshole Mommy on December 1, 2015. Tweet This
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The post Paying It Forward in My Community Thanks to Stop & Shop #PayitForwardwithSS appeared first on Masshole Mommy.
