ROCHESTER, NY, 2016-Mar-25 — /EPR Retail News/ — During the winter 2016 checkout scanning campaign at 27 Wegmans stores in Massachusetts, Buffalo and the Southern Tier of New York, and parts of Pennsylvania, hunger relief donations rose to $1,095,336, a 6% increase over the winter 2015 total. Check Out Hunger allows customers to donate $2 $3, $5 or any other amount at checkout with 100% of the proceeds going to each store’s local food bank.
“These totals show that our customers and employees give selflessly to support food banks in building healthier neighborhoods,” said Wegmans Community Relations Manager Linda Lovejoy. “As we celebrate our hundredth year in business, we’re especially appreciative of the local partnerships that help us make a difference in every community we serve.”
The food banks that will receive donations are listed below with the amount raised, and in parentheses, the Wegmans stores that raised money for them:
Massachusetts
Greater Boston Food Bank – $89,044 (Burlington, Chestnut Hill and Westwood)
Worcester County Food Bank – $20,515 (Northborough)
New York
Food Bank of the Southern Tier – $243,011 (five stores in the Southern Tier region)
Food Bank of Western New York – $578,864 (11 stores in the Buffalo region)
Pennsylvania
Central Pennsylvania Food Bank – $38,197 (Harrisburg and Williamsport)
Food Bank of the State College Area – $31,816 (State College)
Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest Pennsylvania – $81,517 (Erie Peach St. and Erie West)
The Weinberg Northeast Regional Food Bank – $12,372 (Dickson City and Wilkes Barre)
The winter campaign ran at various dates from January to March. Timing of the annual checkout scanning campaigns varies by region. The remaining Wegmans stores in Maryland, New Jersey, the Greater Rochester region of New York, Eastern Pennsylvania, and Virginia run annual checkout campaigns during the fall season. Wegmans stores in the Greater Syracuse region of New York begin their spring campaign in April.
Hunger relief scanning campaigns raised a total of $2.9 million at Wegmans in 2015. Since these programs began in 1993, Wegmans has raised more than $29 million for hunger relief.
In addition to money raised for emergency food services in 2015, Wegmans also donated 14.5 million pounds of food to local food banks, food pantries, and soup kitchens across all of its market areas.
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Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is an 88-store supermarket chain with stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, and Massachusetts. The family-owned company, recognized as an industry leader and innovator, is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2016. Wegmans has been named one of the ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ by FORTUNE magazine for 19 consecutive years, ranking #4 in 2016.
Contact Information:
Valerie Fox, media relations coordinator, 585-720-5713
Michele Mehaffy, consumer affairs manager (Buffalo media only), 716-685-8170