Last updated on June 26th, 2024 at 04:30 pm
Stop & Shop celebrated the fifth anniversary of its partnership with P.S. 105 The Bay School in New York by donating $17,500 to enable the school to meet the needs of its more than 600 students.
In 2019, The Bay School was the first school in New York to be a recipient of the Stop & Shop School Food Pantry program and has now received more than $72,000 from the grocery retailer in support of the effort.
Badger Technologies, a product division of Jabil and creator of Stop & Shop’s “Marty the Robot,” donated $5,000, which equals 50,000 meals, to the School Food Pantry Program in support of the overall gift card donation.
“Badger Technologies is thrilled to support The Bay School Food Pantry Program through the Stop & Shop School Food Pantry,” said William “BJ” Santiago, CEO of Badger Technologies.
“We are honored to participate in this program as part of our shared community commitment and applaud Stop & Shop’s dedication to making a positive impact in the classroom by ensuring that students have access to much-needed meals.”
P.S. 105 The Bay School is a Title 1 school, which means it has a high percentage of students from impecunious households. The school food pantry serves 300 students monthly and 94 percent of the total students receive free or reduced lunch. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), food insecurity among children increased by 44 percent from 2022 to 2023. This is the highest number of food insecure children since 2014 and the largest one-year increase in food insecurity since 2008.
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“We are incredibly grateful for the continued support of Stop & Shop and Badger Technologies,” said Principal Kathryn O’Brien.
“Their generous donation to our School Food Pantry Program is a lifeline for many of our students. Knowing they have access to nutritious meals at home allows them to come to school focused and ready to learn. It truly makes a world of difference in their overall well-being.”
Beneficiaries of the food pantry can pick up groceries daily. Items the pantry provides include cereal, cups of noodles, juice, granola bars, fruit cups, pasta, canned vegetables, beans, rice, condiments, deodorant, toothpaste, shampoo and body wash.
The Stop & Shop School Food Pantry Program was established to help limit barriers impacting students’ ability to succeed in the classroom by making sure that they have consistent access to food. Stop & Shop supports local schools’ existing food pantries or helps them establish new ones by providing donations to help stock their shelves.
“Children need proper nutrition to grow their bodies and minds,” said Tarik Stewart, regional VP of operations for Stop & Shop.
“We are very thankful to our partners Badger Technologies for their donation, and proud to have supported The Bay School Food Pantry for the past five years so they can ensure their students have access to the food they need to have the greatest opportunity to reach their full potential inside and outside the classroom.”
Stop & Shop supports more than 230 school food pantries across its five-state footprint. Across the city, there are 48 total school pantries, 15 in Queens, 13 in the Bronx, 14 in Brooklyn, four in Staten Island, two in Manhattan and several more to open across the boroughs in 2024.
