A Simple Kinda Life

Hunger is a serious issue in our country, one that seems to be overlooked far too often. I, myself, have been hungry and had to go to various community resources to feed myself and my children. Therefore, this subject is very close to my heart and I was very eager to be involved in this project.

ShopRite - Partners in Caring is an organization that helps fight hunger and has been doing so for 10 years. Learn more about the organization below.


ShopRite Partners In Caring & General Mills: A Partnership for Caring

Since the inception of ShopRite Partners In Caring (SRPIC) in 1999, General Mills has been one of the program’s most supportive vendor partners, helping to fight hunger in communities across New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

For the last nine years, General Mills has honored ShopRite store associates and people in the ShopRite trading area who help fight hunger in their communities by featuring them on the iconic Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios boxes. The people who have appeared on these limited-edition boxes through the years are true hunger-fighting heroes. The box has featured ShopRite associates who help raise funds and awareness of the issue of hunger, food bank directors who are on the front lines of the fight against hunger, and community heroes, both children and adults, who go above and beyond to help provide food for the needy. Athletes, movie stars and celebrity faces may appear on other cereal boxes in supermarket aisles, but Cheerios is reserved for those who are engaged in the fight to end hunger.

Once a year, all 217 ShopRite stores are asked to take part in a special contest. The stores compete against each other to raise money for ShopRite Partners In Caring and to promote awareness about hunger. At the end of the contest, judges from General Mills and ShopRite select the top ShopRite stores, who nominate two associates from their store to appear on a limited-edition Cheerios box.

In honor of the 10th Anniversary of ShopRite Partners In Caring, four Cheerios custom boxes were created and sold exclusively at ShopRite stores. The first hit store shelves in September, 2008 to announce a search for ten community heroes that have given their all to help fight hunger. The second, in stores in January 2009, honored food banks in the Northeast for their endless support of those less fortunate. The third box, which was available in March, featured ShopRite store associates and the ten winning hunger-fighting heroes of the September 2008 contest. The fourth, a Honey Nut Cheerios box, will be in ShopRite stores in January, featuring bloggers who use their influence to spread the word about hunger and help raise awareness about the issue.




ShopRite Partners In Caring - How It Started

The ShopRite organization recognized the pervasive problem of hunger experienced by so many people right in the neighborhoods served by their stores. It’s a problem that not only exists during the holiday season, when attention is focused on charitable giving, but it also exists throughout the year. ShopRite had already been helping to fight the problem of hunger for more than 20 years through its support of the Feeding America network (formerly America’s Second Harvest) and through participation in the Checkout Hunger program, but wanted to do more.

In 1999, ShopRite conceived and began its ShopRite Partners In Caring program, a year-round, community based hunger fighting initiative. With the help of more than 50 manufacturers, the program is committed to helping to feed and meet the nutritional needs of families and the elderly who may otherwise go without. These generous companies are a major reason why ShopRite Partners In Caring has been such a success.

Today, the ShopRite Partners In Caring program supports 23 regional food banks and more than 1,400 charitable agencies with food or meal components. With a $2 million annual donation, more than $20 million has been donated since 1999 in the fight against hunger.

How It Works

Companies that have joined ShopRite in the fight against hunger are marked in stores with the ShopRite Partners In Caring shelf label. By choosing these products, ShopRite customers support manufacturers who contribute to the program.

Each of the 217 ShopRite stores in the six states that ShopRite serves (New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Maryland) selects qualified local organizations to benefit from the program. These local food charities use their designated funds to acquire supplies at a food bank.

Who Is Served

More than 36 million Americans go to bed hungry every night – 12 million of them are children. They could be your neighbors, people you know in the community or maybe somebody you said “hello” to this morning. ShopRite is committed to making a difference in the lives of its neighbors. That’s why ShopRite Partners In Caring dollars ultimately service a variety of organizations with feeding capabilities including emergency food pantries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, child care centers, battered women’s shelters, senior programs, drug rehab centers, programs for the mentally and physically disabled, after school programs and other organizations that support those in need in ShopRite communities.

Every time a customer purchases products with the ShopRite Partners In Caring shelf tag, they support the brands that support the fight against hunger. At ShopRite, customers are not just filling a grocery bag; they are helping to fill empty bowls for thousands of hungry families in your community.

ShopRite Partners In Caring is the Recipient of the Following Awards – among others:

• Good Neighbor Award – Food Marketing Institute (FMI)
• Retailer of the Year Award – America’s Second Harvest/Feeding America
• Outstanding Achievement Award – Hudson Valley Food Bank
• Crystal Toque Award – Philadelphia and South Jersey
• Outstanding Spirit Award – Monmouth and Ocean County Food Bank
• Connecticut Food Bank – Bill Liddell Award
• Corporate Excellence Award – Food Bank for New York City


For more on the program, visit www.ShopRitePartnersInCaring.org


*If you comment on this post, General Mills and ShopRite will donate one box of cereal to a food bank in ShopRite’s trading area for the first 30 people who comment on this post.