HUDSON VALLEY- It was a banner year for ShopRite Supermarkets’ 10th annual Feeding Our Neighbors campaign. The 2024, two-week event raised $107,663 to support Catholic Charities’ food pantries, soup kitchens, and other programs that fight hunger in the Hudson Valley. Since joining Catholic Charities’ annual Feeding Our Neighbors initiative in 2014, ShopRite Supermarkets and its guests have donated more than $793,000, and made generous donations of non-perishable food items, to support Catholic Charities’ efforts to address food insecurity in the communities it serves. The monetary donation reflects the equivalent of more than 3,174,000 meals during the decade of participation in the annual food drive and fundraiser. ShopRite’s donation stays local to help Catholic Charities address food insecurity through its many programs in the region.
ShopRite employees were on hand at Catholic Charities of Orange, Sullivan, and Ulster’s 2024 Celebration of Charity dinner, hosted at The Kartrite Resort in Monticello, for the ceremonial “big check” presentation made by Vice President of Operations Mike Schoendorf to Catholic Charities’ Board Chair Tom Strahle and CEO Shannon Kelly.
ShopRite’s 27 stores in the Hudson Valley participated in the annual campaign to raise funds to support Catholic Charities’ emergency food distribution programs in the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Ulster, Sullivan, and Westchester. The campaign, which ran for two weeks in March, raised funds through cash donations at check-out. The 2024 campaign monetary donation was the equivalent of approximately 430,000 meals.
“We are extremely grateful for ShopRite’s generous support of the communities we serve together,” said Catholic Charities CEO, Shannon Kelly. “At all levels of the organization they encourage and promote a spirit of community and caring that is aligned with Catholic Charities’ mission to provide help and create hope. Catholic Charities is fortunate to be one of the many organizations blessed by their generosity,” added Kelly.
The donation was shared between different Catholic Charities agencies in each of the Hudson Valley counties where ShopRite stores are located. Leading the supermarket’s Feeding Our Neighbors fundraising efforts in Orange, Sullivan, and Ulster were the Chester store raising $8,745, the Monticello location raising $4,903, and the New Paltz store bringing in $4,643.
“ShopRite Supermarkets, our store associates, and customers are proud to support Catholic Charities’ efforts to feed our hungry neighbors,” said Mike Schoendorf, Vice President of Operations for ShopRite Supermarkets. “We know that it’s important to give where our store associates and guests live, work, play, and shop. Working together, we can fight food insecurity for those who are struggling.”
In recognition of their years of outstanding community support of Catholic Charities, and many other not-for-profit organizations throughout the region, ShopRite Supermarkets was presented with Catholic Charities’ prestigious Caritas Award at the 2024 Celebration of Charity and Caritas Awards dinner.
While the Feeding Our Neighbors campaign takes place just two weeks each year, the need to feed the hungry lasts all year. For more information about making a donation of cash or food, or to receive food assistance, contact your local Catholic Charities’ office. In Orange, Sullivan, and Ulster Counties, visit www.cccsos.org, to find the nearest location or call 845.294.5124 x1005.
