Stop & Shop Welcomes 300th School to its School Food Pantry Program, Reinforcing Role as Leader in Combatting Food Insecurity Across the Northeast

Since establishing its first in-school food pantry in 2019, the neighborhood grocer has invested over $10 million to grow its pantry network to serve 50,000 students and families monthly at 300 schools, becoming one of the largest corporate supporters of school-based food pantries in the nation.

QUINCY, Mass., Oct. 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stop & Shop marked a major milestone in its fight against food insecurity as it welcomed McCarthy Elementary School in Framingham, Mass., as the 300^th school served by the Stop & Shop School Food Pantry Program. To open the school’s new pantry called “McCarthy Market”, Stop & Shop donated $10,000, shelving, and a commercial-grade refrigerator. The pantry will serve students and families in need, providing consistent access to nutritious food for the evenings, weekends, and school breaks, when school-provided meals aren’t available.

Established in 2019, the Stop & Shop School Food Pantry Program was created to ensure students don't go to school hungry and can perform their best in the classroom and beyond. Stop & Shop partners with local schools, from pre-K through college, to establish and support food pantries directly in schools so students and their families can easily access nutritious food in a safe, convenient, and stigma-free environment.

According to the Greater Boston Food Bank, food insecurity in Massachusetts has more than doubled since 2019. At McCarthy, a Title I school, 55% of the 474 enrolled students are considered economically disadvantaged, and nearly 30 students are living in temporary housing. In-school pantries, like the McCarthy Market, provide students and their families with convenient access to critical food resources in a trusted environment that’s already part of their daily life.  

Today, the Stop & Shop School Food Pantry Program is one of the largest school-based food pantry programs in the country, and it’s made a measurable impact on the 300 schools served. In a survey of all its School Food Pantry partners, Stop & Shop found that

• 87% have seen stigma around pantry use decrease
• 79% report a stronger school culture
• 46% report an increase in student attendance

“When a child is hungry, it's hard to think about anything else, let alone focus on schoolwork," said Roger Wheeler, President of Stop & Shop. "Seven years ago, Stop & Shop set out to put food where kids and families already are, in their schools. Across our now 300 school partners we’re hearing that students are showing up more often and that asking for help no longer carries the stigma it once did. As the need keeps growing, so will our commitment."

"This is such a proud moment for the Framingham Public Schools, and we are humbled by supporters, like Stop and Shop, who join us in supporting children and families in our community," said Dr. Robert A. Tremblay, Superintendent of the Framingham Public Schools. "The incredible combination of forces of families, staff, administrators, and community partners joining hands with corporate partners and supporters and educational union partners at the local, state, and national level is like nothing I have experienced before. THIS is what community is about. This is what our Community School at McCarthy represents!"

Since launching its School Food Pantry Program in 2019, Stop & Shop has invested over $10 million in the program and scaled its partnerships to reach 300 schools, which serve a combined total of 50,000 students and families each month.

To mark the milestone, Stop & Shop hosted an official ribbon cutting ceremony accompanied by a day of learning, nutrition and fun for the McCarthy community in partnership with The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art and author and illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka.

Krosoczka, a Worcester native and New York Times best-selling author and illustrator, visited with McCarthy's second, third, fourth and fifth graders to share his beloved Lunch Lady graphic novel series, which helped inspire a movement around the role nourishment plays in student success.

Educators from The Carle read to the school's youngest students, joined by a special visit from the Very Hungry Caterpillar.  Stop & Shop also donated 500 books, curated by the experts at The Carle, so every McCarthy student could choose a book to bring home. The donation coincides with the city of Framingham’s million reads challenge, an effort for adults and kids to collectively read 1,000,000 books as a community by June 30^th, 2027. The goal is to help model reading not just as an academic requirement, but as a lifelong source of joy, imagination, and relaxation.

“No child should ever feel food insecurity, and the hunger to read more books should be the only hunger a child should feel,” said Jennifer Schantz, executive director of the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. “We are proud to join Stop & Shop to celebrate the opening of the McCarthy Market and help bring books to all the McCarthy students.”

To thank the people who keep the school running, Stop & Shop served catered lunch for McCarthy's faculty and staff, including the cafeteria team who feed its students every school day. On September 25^th, Stop & Shop also donated 500 tickets and transportation for McCarthy students and families to attend the Red Sox game versus the Chicago Cubs at Fenway Park.  The tickets were part of Stop & Shop’s multi-year partnership with the Red Sox to Strike Out School Hunger. Each strikeout completed by the Red Sox during regular season home games feed 1,000 students in need across the Northeast. 

For more information about the Stop & Shop School Food Pantry Program visit: https://stopandshop.com/pages/school-food-pantry-program .

About Stop & Shop 

A neighborhood grocer for more than 100 years, Stop & Shop is focused on delivering a wide assortment of fresh, healthy options at a great value through strong weekly sales and everyday low prices. Its new GO Rewards loyalty program delivers personalized offers and allows customers to earn points that can be redeemed for gas or groceries every time they shop. Stop & Shop customers can choose however they want to shop - whether it’s in-store or online, which offers both delivery and same day pickup. The company is committed to making an impact in its communities by fighting hunger and working to ensure no students has to go to school hungry through its Stop & Shop School Food Pantry Program. Headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts, The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company LLC is an Ahold Delhaize USA Company and employs nearly 50,000 associates and operates more than 350 stores throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey. To learn more about Stop & Shop, visit www.stopandshop.com. 

About The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art

Founded by Eric and Barbara Carle in 2002, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is the international champion of picture book art. Situated on 7.5 acres in Amherst, Massachusetts, The Carle cares for more than 30,000 works of art by more than 300 picture book artists, including Eric Carle (The Very Hungry Caterpillar), and illuminates its collection through exhibitions, education, programming, and art-making—making it a critical resource for picture book artists and authors, and art-loving communities locally, nationally, and abroad. The Carle’s mission is to elevate picture book art and inspire a love of art and art creation. Since opening its doors more than 20 years ago, The Carle has welcomed more than one million visitors—plus more than four million additional museumgoers who have enjoyed its touring exhibitions around the world. To learn more about The Carle, visit carlemuseum.org.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
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https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f2445ef9-2cbc-4229-a75d-fff57b0e97ed
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Contact:
media@stopandshop.com

Stop & Shop Welcomes 300th School to its School Food Pantry Program

Since establishing its first in-school food pantry in 2019, the neighborhood grocer has invested over $10 million to grow its pantry network

Stop & Shop has welcomed McCarthy Elementary School as it's 300th pantry

Stop & Shop donated $10,000, shelving, and a commercial-grade refrigerator.

Stop & Shop hosted an official ribbon cutting ceremony

To mark the milestone, Stop & Shop hosted an official ribbon cutting ceremony accompanied by a day of learning, nutrition and fun for the McCarthy community in partnership with The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art and author and illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka.