More Than 30 Associates Toured FBSJ and Helped Prepare Food for its Summer Meals Program.

 

Published in The Medford Sun | By Tom Beck | On August 8, 2017 — More than 30 associates from ShopRite of Lawnside and ShopRite of Medford visited the Food Bank of South Jersey (FBSJ) on Thursday, Aug. 3 to help prepare snacks for the FBSJ Summer Meals Program, which aims to feed 8,000 children at 168 sites across Camden, Burlington, Gloucester and Salem counties this summer. Volunteers are critical to ensuring that FBSJ packs and delivers 5,000 meals daily.

The visit also included a site tour and meetings between ShopRite associates and FBSJ leaders to discuss FBSJ programs and needs as ShopRite annually supports FBSJ programming and initiatives.

“The importance of corporate partnerships such as these are critical in helping FBSJ act as a better resource for the thousands of food insecure people living in South Jersey,” states FBSJ President and CEO Val Traore. “Hunger is a real issue here that affects nearly 200,000 individuals, 57,000 of whom are children, and without the support of partners such as ShopRite, we simply could not execute the many programs and services that support our community.”

This visit to FBSJ was in preparation for ShopRite’s focused donation drive in September for its Partners in Caring Program, a year-round, community-based, hunger-fighting initiative that provides nearly $3 million annually to qualified charitable agencies in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The Food Bank of South Jersey is an annual beneficiary of ShopRite’s Partners in Caring Program.

ShopRite of Medford was the top store over the last two years in terms of fundraising for Partners in Caring, and the store looks to remain on top to continue supporting the Food Bank of South Jersey and other Southern New Jersey agencies.

“I am thrilled that both of our stores are competitive in their efforts to raise money for Partners in Caring, but I wanted our associates to visit the Food Bank of South Jersey to realize that there is more to this than the competition; the money we raise truly has an impact on our communities,” said David Zallie, owner of ShopRite of Medford and ShopRite of Lawnside. “The Food Bank of South Jersey gave us a sobering look at food insecurity in South Jersey and an overview of the many programs and initiatives they have in place to help end hunger in our area. We are all leaving today ready and willing to do more to support their efforts.”

Among its upcoming Partners in Caring fundraising activities, ShopRite of Medford will host a Labor Day 5K and 1-mile Fun Run/Walk in Medford on September 4. Interested participants can sign up here by September 2. Both ShopRite of Medford and ShopRite of Lawnside are also currently selling raffle tickets for a $500 shopping spree, and both will host silent auctions in mid-September.