Supermarket retailer kicks off annual “Feeding Minds & Bodies” Campaign to help combat food insecurity and promote healthy childhood development
Chicopee, MA (May 16, 2024) – Price Rite Marketplace teamed up with anti-hunger organization Feed the Children, the Boys & Girls Club of Chicopee and Pepsi to distribute food and essentials to nearly 400 local families on May 16. The event is part of Price Rite Marketplace’s annual Feeding Minds & Bodies Campaign in partnership with Feed the Children, dedicated to supporting families experiencing food insecurity. This year, Price Rite Marketplace is celebrating a decade of joining forces with Feed the Children to combat hunger.
Each family, pre-identified by the Boys & Girls Club of Chicopee, received a 25-lb box of food, a 15-lb box of personal care items, backpacks filled with school supplies, Price Rite Marketplace gift cards and other assorted items provided by Feed the Children and Price Rite Marketplace.
Price Rite Marketplace and Feed the Children representatives were joined by Adam Gomez, senator, State of Massachusetts; Shirley Arriaga, representative, State of Massachusetts; John L. Vieau, mayor, City of Chicopee; and Jason Reed, executive director, Boys & Girls Club of Chicopee.
“Our Feeding Minds & Bodies program is one of the many ways Price Rite Marketplace serves its communities,” said Kevin McDonnell, president of Price Rite Marketplace. “We are excited to celebrate our 10th year in partnership with Feed the Children and work with the Boys & Girls Club this year to provide resources to children and families in need in 10 cities.”
Fighting hunger is at the heart of Price Rite Marketplace’s charitable giving and paired with Feed the Children’s vision to create a world where no child goes to bed hungry, the two created the Feeding Minds & Bodies initiative, which is designed to bring attention to and fight the issue of childhood hunger. This year, Price Rite Marketplace and Feed the Children are partnering with the Boys & Girls Club of America to provide food, personal care items and school supplies that kids need to thrive throughout the year. With one in eight U.S. children living in a food insecure household, hunger remains a serious issue in many communities, especially during summer months and the back-to-school season.
“Children cannot thrive unless their basic needs are met,” said Travis Arnold, president and CEO of Feed the Children. “A widespread issue like childhood hunger will only be solved when enough people work together. Partners like Price Rite, Pepsi and the Boys & Girls Club of Chicopee are vital to our mission as we serve vulnerable communities.”
Since partnering with Feed the Children, Price Rite Marketplace has contributed nearly three million pounds of food totaling more than $10 million in gift-in-kind donations, helping more than 165,000 people in 49 cities.
About Price Rite Marketplace
Price Rite Marketplace is a registered trademark of Wakefern Food Corp., a retailer owned cooperative based in Keasbey, NJ and the largest supermarket cooperative in the United States. Price Rite Marketplace opened its first store in 1995 under the name Price Rite Supermarkets, and currently operates over 60 grocery stores in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Maryland. Committed to providing the best value for customers, Price Rite Marketplace delivers a simplified shopping experience with top name brand foods and products and expanded fresh produce and organic offerings at exceptional prices. Price Rite Marketplace is also dedicated to fighting hunger through its annual Check-Out Hunger fundraising campaign and partnerships with Feed The Children and local food banks. For more information, please visit www.priceritemarketplace.com.
About Feed the Children
At Feed the Children, we feed hungry kids. We envision a world where no child goes to bed hungry. In the U.S. and internationally, we are dedicated to helping families and communities achieve stable lives and to reducing the need for help tomorrow, while providing food and resources to help them today. We distribute product donations from corporate donors to local community partners, we provide support for teachers and students, and we mobilize resources quickly to aid recovery efforts when natural disasters strike. Internationally, we manage child-focused community development programs in eight countries. We welcome partnerships because we know our work would not be possible without collaborative relationships.
To learn more, please visit feedthechildren.org.