Stop & Shop Restore Program Donates $50,000

Stop & Shop is extending the reach of its Restore reduced-emissions fuel program in advance of the holiday season, by donating a total of $50,000 grants to five hunger-relief organizations.

Launched last year, the Restore fuel program invests in carbon reduction projects each time customers fill up at any of Stop & Shop’s 105 fuel stations in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Restore offsets tailpipe emissions through investments in a number of certified environmental projects.

Photograph courtesy of Stop & Shop

“While the Restore program traditionally focuses on reducing the carbon footprint of our fuel customers, during this time of increased need we expanded the program’s focus to help local hunger-relief organizations support the rising number of people who are facing food insecurity as a result of the pandemic,” said Jennifer Brogan, director of community relations, Stop & Shop, in a release. “The grants will provide additional assistance to local food pantries, which play such a critical role in feeding those in need, especially during the holiday season. The donation also includes calculating and offsetting the operational emissions of the organizations making them carbon neutral.”

According to Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization, the coronavirus-related economic crisis could push the number of food insecure Americans to 54 million by the end of 2020.

The donations will support those facing food insecurity across the communities that Restore serves in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, with each of the following organizations receiving a $10,000 grant: Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen Inc., New Haven, Conn.; Waste Not Want Not Community Kitchen, Granby, Conn.; The Family Pantry of Cape Cod, Harwich, Mass.; The Greater Fall River Community Food Pantry, Fall River, Mass.; and Federal Hill House, Providence, R.I.

To date, the Restore program from Stop & Shop, an Ahold Delhaize USA Company, has offset over 102 million gallons of fuel, offsetting 51,00 metric tons of carbon and planting over 25,000 trees in partnership with Arbor Day Foundation.

Stop & Shop’s Restore reduced emissions program is facilitated by GreenPrint, a global environmental technology company that offers turnkey sustainability programs. GreenPrint, A Public Benefit Corporation, is on pace to offset over 30 million metric tons of carbon by 2025.