Editor’s note: The ShopRite location on Hylan Blvd hosted the annual ‘Help Bag Hunger’ event. Lt. Esther Mobley, of the Salvation Army’s Stapleton Corps, was this year’s winner. Supermarket Sweep, the television show from 1965 and later the 1990s that the contest was modeled after, is making a comeback featuring Leslie Jones of the all-female team Ghostbusters and SNL.
From Lt. Esther Mobley: “I’m incredibly grateful that my win helped secure donations for not only The Salvation Army organization but others as well. The $500 donation we received will significantly support our ongoing fight against food insecurity in the Stapleton community. The event was modeled after the TV show Supermarket Sweep—we had two minutes to fill our carts with as much non-perishable food as possible. I focused on the needs of my community, selecting club-sized items like cooking oil, canned goods, pasta, and breakfast staples for kids. It was truly a blessing to be part of the event.” – Lt. Esther Mobley, The Salvation Army Greater NY Division, Stapleton, Staten Island Corps
The contest was a four minute run through the store, where participants were filling their carts with as much food as possible. The person with the highest value cart total would determine the amount of the donation that ShopRite will make to their local food banks. This will help many people who are in need. Non-profit leaders and local politicians were participants in the contest, including Lt. Mobley, Asm. Pirozzolo, Ian W. Yanda, chief of staff of Assemblyman Michael Tannousis, and Jean Council of Bait-ul Jamaat House of Community. All of the food in their carts was donated to the food pantries and food banks on the island.
Other charities that participated in the event in addition to the Salvation Army included Community Outreach Ministry of Stapleton, Christian Pentecostal Church, Oakwood Heights Community Church, Feeding with TLC Inc., and Stapleton UAME Church
Thank you to ShopRite & the Mannix Family for inviting me to join ‘Help Bag Hunger Day 2024.’
Every shopper had two minutes to race across the store and fill our carts with as much food as possible.
Once everything was checked out, the highest cart total was generously donated by ShopRite to four Staten Island organizations working to fight food insecurity. Nearly $4,000 in gift cards were awarded! It was a great event for an even better cause – thank you having me!
Keasbey, NJ (May 29, 2024) – ShopRite associates once again gave their all to fight hunger, raising over $1.5 million for food banks in their communities in 2024. The top store fundraisers were celebrated all this spring with special events and a limited edition Cheerios box with their photos.
To earn a spot on the popular cereal box, associates compete each September (Hunger Action Month) in the annual ShopRite Partners In Caring Cheerios Contest, a friendly competition sponsored by ShopRite and Cheerios maker General Mills. With this year’s contest theme, “Harvesting Hope,” associates collected donations at checkout and in-store, encouraging customers to round their grocery purchases up to the nearest dollar. The 45 top fundraising stores selected associates to appear on the cereal box, and those stores hosted special events to honor their associates and unveil the limited edition cereal boxes. Those unveiling events wrapped up this month.
The annual ShopRite Partners In Caring Cheerios Contest is a beloved tradition among associates and an important tool in ShopRite’s fight against hunger, which also depends on the support of generous customers.
Each winning store received prize money to be donated to local food pantries: $5,000 for the top five stores and $2,500 for the remaining stores.
Many family-owned ShopRite supermarkets have been serving local communities for decades — and their dedicated associates are key to their success. The ShopRite of Brodheadsville, PA, owned and operated by the Kinsley family, is the top fundraising store for the fourth year in a row, raising over $47,000. The ShopRite of Ramsey was also a top fundraiser this year, raising nearly $46,000.
Other winning ShopRite locations include:
New Jersey:
Brookdale, Byram in Stanhope, Flemington, Franklin, Greater Morristown, Hillsborough, Hoboken, Lodi, Mansfield in Hackettstown, Maple and Hemlock in Fair Lawn, Marmora, Medford, Metro Plaza in Jersey City, Mount Laurel, Mullica Hill, New Milford, Newton, Northvale, Sparta, Spotswood, Stirling, Succasunna, Union, Washington, Wayne and West Milford.
New York:
Bruckner Blvd in the Bronx, Carmel, Chester, Cortlandt, Fishkill, Forest & Richmond on Staten Island, Hylan Plaza on Staten Island, Lagrangeville, Massapequa, North Road in Poughkeepsie, Pelham, Stony Point, Tuckahoe and Veterans Road on Staten Island.
Pennsylvania:
Bethlehem, Morrell Plaza in Philadelphia, Westfall in Matamoras and Yardley.
About ShopRite Partners In Caring
ShopRite Partners In Caring is a year-round, community-based, hunger-fighting initiative that works with more than 50 food industry manufacturers to provide $3 million annually to qualified charitable agencies in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania — all the states where our ShopRite stores operate. Since its inception in 1999, ShopRite Partners In Caring has donated $62 million to more than 2,200 charities. ShopRite Partners In Caring supports emergency food pantries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, childcare centers, battered women’s shelters, senior citizen programs, drug rehab centers, programs for the mentally and physically disabled, after-school programs and other organizations that aid those in need. The ShopRite Partners In Caring Fund was established in 2002 as a component fund of the Community Foundation of New Jersey to accept private donations that help fund its charitable endeavors. For more information or to learn how you can help, please visit www.shopritepartnersincaring.org.
About General Mills
General Mills makes food the world loves. The company is guided by its Accelerate strategy to drive shareholder value by boldly building its brands, relentlessly innovating, unleashing its scale and standing for good. Its portfolio of beloved brands includes household names such as Cheerios, Nature Valley, Blue Buffalo, Häagen-Dazs, Old El Paso, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Totino’s. Annie’s, Wanchai Ferry, Yoki and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, General Mills generated fiscal 2023 net sales of U.S. $20.1 billion. In addition, the company’s share of non-consolidated joint venture net sales totaled U.S. $1.0 billion.
Staten Islander News Service Staff Writer
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