NEW YORK, 2017-Apr-27 — /EPR Retail News/ — During the winter 2017 checkout scanning campaign at 27 Wegmans stores in Massachusetts, Buffalo and the Southern Tier of New York, and parts of Pennsylvania, hunger relief donations hit $1,089,769. 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.
“We’ve been running hunger relief scanning campaigns for 24 years, but we continue to be amazed by, and appreciative of, the selfless giving our customers and employees continue to demonstrate each year,” said Wegmans Community Relations Manager Linda Lovejoy. “Their donations at checkout help reduce hunger that exists right in our own neighborhoods and communities.”
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 – $77,447 (Burlington, Chestnut Hill and Westwood)
· Worcester County Food Bank – $36,105 (Northborough)
New York
· Food Bank of the Southern Tier – $243,682 (five stores in the Southern Tier region)
· Food Bank of Western New York – $579,887 (11 stores in the Buffalo region)
Pennsylvania
· Central Pennsylvania Food Bank – $22,680 (Harrisburg and Williamsport)
· Food Bank of the State College Area – $13,681 (State College)
· Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest Pennsylvania – $84,169 (Erie Peach St. and Erie West)
· The Weinberg Northeast Regional Food Bank – $32,118 (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 Northern Virginia run annual checkout campaigns during the fall season. Wegmans stores in Richmond and Charlottesville, Va. are running their first-ever Check Out Hunger campaign now through May 6, and stores in the Greater Syracuse region of New York are also in the middle of their spring campaign.
Hunger relief scanning campaigns raised a total of $2.9 million at Wegmans in 2016. Since these programs began in 1993, Wegmans has raised more than $33 million for hunger relief.
In addition to money raised for emergency food services in 2016, Wegmans also donated 14.5 million pounds of food to local food banks, food pantries, and soup kitchens across all its market areas.
Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is a 92-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, celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2016. Wegmans has been named one of the ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ by FORTUNE magazine for 20 consecutive years, ranking #2 in 2017.
SOURCE: Wegmans Food Markets
Press Contact:
Tracy Van Auker
Media Relations Coordinator
585-429-3826
tracy.vanauker@wegmans.com
Michele Mehaffy
Consumer Affairs Manager (Buffalo Media Only)
716-685-8170
michele.mehaffy@wegmans.com