Stop & Shop Donates Nearly $7,000 To Social Services Department

In November, Stop & Shop and the Montville Senior and Social Services Department partnered for the “Food for Friends” program and raised nearly $7,000 for the social service department's food bank.

The monthlong program allowed Stop & Shop customers to donate to the “Food for Friends” program when checking out their groceries at the register.

“The nice thing about this program is that the money goes directly into our community,” says Store Manager Denise Provost.

Kathie Doherty-Peck, social services director, already knows exactly what to do with the money.

“We have two freezers in the food bank that are completely empty, so one of the first things I want to do is restock,” Doherty-Peck says.

According to Doherty-Peck, hundreds of Montville residents depend on the food bank on a weekly basis for at least a portion of their groceries.

“With these hard economic times it’s great to see such support for the community,” says Mayor Joe Jaskiewicz.

Provost attributes the success of the program to loyal customers.

“I’m so excited and proud of the outcome because the bulk of this money came from the community,” she says.

Most of the $6,972 total donations came from customers, but the Stop & Shop Corporate Headquarters also donated a percentage of the total amount raised.

Stop & Shop also works closely with the Senior and Social Services Department throughout the year by hosting other toy and food drives and by donating day-old bread from the bakery to the Senior Center.

“When Stop & Shop first came on the scene, I asked them to be involved in the community as much as possible, and they’ve lived up to their word,” says Jaskiewicz.