ShopRite of West Berlin celebrated a fundraiser that netted $26,000 to fight hunger, an effort by store employees who included Jennifer Harrell (left to right), store director Joe Nean and administrative coordinator Nahtra Stewart.
Zallie-owned ShopRite stores in Gloucester Township’s Chews Landing and Berlin recently raised nearly $26,000 for the fight against hunger as part of the annual ShopRite Partners In Caring Cheerios Contest.
The national initiative – sponsored in partnership with cereal maker General Mills – raises funds to support food banks and organizations. The contest is a friendly competition among nearly 270 ShopRite stores that has raised more than $1.3 million in this year alone. Top fundraisers earn not only earn recognition, but prize money that can be donated to local food pantries selected by store teams.
Community members, store associates and representatives from local charities gathered at the two ShopRite locations on March 25 to celebrate the funds raised. As part of the recognition, ShopRite associates from the top fundraising stores were featured on special-edition Cheerios cereal boxes, available only at ShopRite.
The store employees cited included the township’s Laura Naphy, Bill Hunter and Gerald Tieyah, and Berlin’s Nahtra Stewart and Jennifer Harrell.
The funds were raised during Hunger Action Month in September and will directly benefit local food organizations, including The Unforgotten Haven and Hope Church. The celebration featured the official unveiling of the custom Cheerios boxes and special contributions to the two organizations.
Stewart expressed pride in the efforts of the Berlin ShopRite team.
“We work hard here at the store,” she noted. “This is my third year participating. My team here worked really hard for our community. I feel like we are really competitive, especially within our company, so we were trying to find ways to engage our team and our community to help fight hunger and raise funds.”
Co-worker Harrell shared her enthusiasm for the charitable effort.
“This is the second year I’ve been on it,” she commented, “and it was (because of) good people.”
Steven Hildner, administrator of community relations for ShopRite, emphasized the importance of the stores to the community.
“ShopRite is owned and operated by people in the communities we serve,” he observed of Zallie Family Markets. “Giving back to the community organizations that support us is natural.”
