Special edition Cheerios boxes celebrate ShopRite’s $1.3M for food banks

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Customers at ShopRite supermarkets across New Jersey may notice some familiar faces the next time they pick up Cheerios.

This spring, associates from the Wakefern Food Corp. banner will feature on limited-edition boxes of the popular cereal to recognize their efforts to fight hunger in their communities.

Sponsored in partnership with General Mills, the 25th annual ShopRite Partners in Cheerios Contest is a friendly competition each fall that challenges store workers to collect donations at checkout to help support food banks.

Thanks to the generosity of customers and dedication of ShopRite associates, the initiative generated $1.3 million this year during Hunger Action Month in September, ShopRite said.

Over the next two months, ShopRite and General Mills will recognize the top 47 fundraising stores and associates with special in-store celebrations and cereal box unveilings. Additionally, those locations receive prize money to donate to their local food charity of choice, ShopRite said.

Festivities will kick off March 7 at ShopRite of Ramsey. The Inserra Supermarkets Inc.-owned and operated supermarket collected nearly $50,000 to be named as the top fundraising store this year.

Other winning stores in New Jersey include: ShopRite of Bayonne, ShopRite of Berlin, ShopRite of Brookdale, ShopRite of Byram, ShopRite of Chews Landing, ShopRite of Clinton, ShopRite of Evesham Road, ShopRite of Flemington, ShopRite of Franklin, ShopRite of Hackensack, ShopRite of Hillsdale, ShopRite of Lyndhurst, ShopRite of Mansfield, ShopRite of Marmora, ShopRite of Medford, ShopRite of Metro Plaza, ShopRite of Morristown, ShopRite of Mullica Hill, ShopRite of New Milford, ShopRite of Newton, ShopRite of Sparta, ShopRite of Springfield, ShopRite of Succasunna, ShopRite of Sussex and ShopRite of West Orange.

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ShopRite is also recognizing 13 stores in New York, seven stores in Pennsylvania and one in Connecticut.

Steven Hildner is administrator of corporate social responsibility at ShopRite. “The Cheerios contest is a cherished tradition for ShopRite Partners In Caring that not only recognizes the hard work of the store teams and the families who own and operate ShopRite stores, but also reinforces our collective mission to fight food insecurity,” Hildner said. “Each year, the money raised from this initiative helps strengthen the impact of regional food banks, ensuring that more individuals and families have access to the foods they need.”

ShopRite Partners In Caring is a year-round, community-based, hunger-fighting initiative. The program works with more than 50 food industry manufacturers to provide $3 million annually to qualified charitable agencies in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania – all states where ShopRite operates.

Since its 1999 launch, the program has donated $62 million to more than 2,200 nonprofits. Recipients include emergency food pantries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, child care agencies, women’s shelters, senior citizen programs, drug rehab centers and afterschool programs.
Last year, Fair Lawn ShopRite Associates Krystne Hooper and Amy Cortes were featured on a special edition Cheerios Box for championing the store’s fundraising efforts during the annual ShopRite Partners in Caring Cheerios Contest, sponsored in partnership with General Mills. The store was a top award winner among all 350 ShopRites in the country raising nearly $47,000 for local food banks. From left: Hooper, Store Manager Tony Sessa and Cortes. – PROVIDED BY INSERRA SUPERMARKETS

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