Catholic Charities and ShopRite Supermarkets Continue Partnership to Replenish Food Pantries and Feed Hungry Families in Hudson Valley
Feeding Our Neighbors 2018 Campaign to Launch Sunday, January 21
HUDSON VALLEY, NY – The holiday season may have passed, but the needs in food pantries and soup kitchens persist. That’s why Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York and ShopRite Supermarkets are teaming up for the fourth year in support of the archdiocesan-wide Feeding Our Neighbors campaign. ShopRite’s 27 stores in the Hudson Valley are participating in the annual mid-winter drive to raise food and funds to replenish food pantries throughout the Archdiocese of New York (which includes Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Sullivan, Westchester, and Ulster Counties). Participating ShopRite stores throughout Westchester and the mid-Hudson region will coordinate Point of Sale collections from Sunday, January 21 through Sunday, February 3. At checkout, shoppers will be asked to make donations of cash or non-perishable food to the annual food drive.
“We are grateful to ShopRite and their customers for their continued generosity in support of the Feeding Our Neighbors food drive,” said Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, Executive Director of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York. “The donations come at a time when food pantries are struggling to keep their shelves stocked and clients fed. Both the food collected, and the funds raised, will go a long way in helping local food pantries and soup kitchens replenish their inventory and feed our hungry neighbors. Working together, we’re able to make a much-needed difference in our communities.”
This is ShopRite’s fourth year participating in the Feeding Our Neighbors campaign. In the first three years, ShopRite collected nearly $400,000 and 50,000 pounds of non-perishable food through the generosity of donations from ShopRite customers. Last year, Feeding Our Neighbors donations from throughout the Archdiocese of New York raised the equivalent of more than
1.5 million meals. The donations were distributed to food pantries, soup kitchens, and other anti-poverty programs throughout the Archdiocese.
“Food insecurity continues to be a major issue within the communities we serve, and our ShopRite family is proud to do our part to help our neighbors in need”, said Tom Urtz, Vice President of Operations, ShopRite Supermarkets, Inc. “Thanks to the support of our generous employees, customers, and partners, we hope we can continue to make a difference in the fight against hunger.”
The 2018 Feeding Our Neighbors campaign kicked-off with a press conference at ShopRite’s Greenway Plaza store in Yonkers Friday. Catholic Charities and ShopRite leadership joined with elected officials, including Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano, New York State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Yonkers City Council President Mike Khader, Council Majority Leader Michael Sabatino, Council Member Corazon Pineda Isaac, Council Member Shanae Williams, Westchester County Legislator Christopher Johnson, Father Donald Kaufman, LC, of St. Peter’s Parish in Yonkers, as well as other local officials and clergy, store employees, and customers to launch the food drive and bring attention to issues of hunger throughout the region.
While the Feeding Our Neighbors campaign takes place just two weeks each year, the need to feed the hungry lasts all year long. For more information about making a donation of cash or food, contact your local food pantry, Catholic Charities office, or visit www.catholiccharitiesny.org.
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Cutline 1: Elected officials, ShopRite employees and customers, clergy members, and members of the local community joined together with Catholic Charities to launch ShopRite’s fourth year of support for the Feeding Our Neighbors food drive. The annual food drive hosted at the end of January strives to restock food pantries at a time when the need is high and donations are low. Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano addressed the issue of hunger and food insecurity during the kick-off at ShopRite’s Yonkers/Greenway store. Looking on are Yonkers City Council Majority Leader Michael Sabatino, Council Member Shanae Williams, ShopRite Vice President Tom Urtz, City Council President Mike Khader, Msgr. Kevin Sullivan, Executive Director of Catholic Charities, NYS Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Store Manager Jerry Galella, Council Member Corazon Pineda Isaac, and Tony Miles, ShopRite.
