NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y, March 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stop & Shop today announces it will make an emergency delivery of 33,000 pounds of food to HOPE Community Services, the largest food pantry and soup kitchen in New Rochelle. The pantry is located just outside the containment area in the community hit hardest by the coronavirus in the United States. The food distribution is scheduled for Friday, March 13, 2020 at 2 p.m. at HOPE Community Services located at 50 Washington Ave, New Rochelle, NY.
HOPE Community Services will distribute the food to New Rochelle residents in need, including families and their children who attend the shuttered New Rochelle schools and would ordinarily receive meals at school. The donation will also allow for HOPE to make deliveries to a half dozen senior communities across New Rochelle. Although they are not quarantined, many of the elderly residents say they are afraid to leave home because they are at risk of getting ill.
“Many of the elderly residents that we serve on a daily basis have told us that because they were at high risk to contract the coronavirus, they were fearful to leave their home to pick up their provisions from the food pantry,” said Walter Ritz, Executive Director of HOPE Community Services. “With New Rochelle schools closed, many children who are provided breakfast and lunch each day were not receiving those meals. Stop & Shop’s concern for the residents of New Rochelle is so greatly appreciated. I cannot begin to thank them enough for the care, compassion and generosity they have shown in helping us to care for our friends and neighbors who are most at risk.”
“We are so grateful that we’re able to help HOPE Community Services in assisting the residents of New Rochelle at this critical time,” said Jennifer Brogan, Stop & Shop’s Director External Communications & Community Relations. “We’re committed to fighting hunger year-round, but during times like this it’s more important than ever to support the communities we serve and provide food to our neighbors in need.”
The Stop & Shop emergency shipment will include the following: peanut butter, rice, pasta, canned tuna, tomato sauce, shelf stable milk, jelly, cereal, canned soup, canned vegetables, canned fruit, beans and mac and cheese.
To ensure the health and safety of HOPE’s staff and volunteers, all will be required to wear protective gloves. All work and serving surfaces will be deep cleaned several times a day, and HOPE’s pantry program will occur outside the building.
About HOPE Community Services
With the assistance and support of a host of volunteers, HOPE opened the doors of its first Soup Kitchen in 1984. Since its early days, HOPE has grown to become the one of largest emergency Food Pantry and Soup Kitchen in the county. Although HOPE Community Services was founded to respond to hunger in the community, it quickly became apparent that food was not the only thing our clients were lacking. Clothing, language skills, emotional support, immigration services, and other daily necessities were also needed. HOPE Community Services expanded its services to meet the needs of its diverse client population.
About Stop & Shop
A neighborhood grocer for more than 100 years, today’s Stop & Shop is refreshed, reenergized and inspired, delivering new conveniences for customers. Committed to helping its communities enjoy better food and better lives, Stop & Shop has a longstanding history of giving back to the neighborhoods it serves with a focus on fighting hunger and helping children to enjoy a healthy lifestyle. The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company LLC is an Ahold Delhaize Company and employs more than 61,000 associates and operates over 400 stores throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey. To learn more about Stop & Shop, visit stopandshop.com.