Stop & Shop Kicks Off Annual Patriotic Campaign to Benefit USO

With upcoming Independence Day celebrations around the corner, Stop & Shop has started its annual Support Our Service Men and Women fundraising campaign that benefits the United Service Organizations (USO). Throughout July, customers can donate $1, $3 or $5 at checkout, in-store or online, or round up their total to the nearest dollar at self-checkout. One hundred percent of all donations will benefit the USO mission to support its mobile and center operations, food and family programming, transition services, and more.

“Our customers and associates throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey look forward to this fundraising effort each year, since it helps the USO in providing an immediate and direct impact on the men and women who serve and protect our nation as well as their families,” said Stacy Wiggins, VP of e-commerce operations at Quincy, Mass.-based Stop & Shop, and a veteran of the U.S. Army.

A global nonprofit organization, the USO has the mission of strengthening service members by keeping them connected to family, home and country throughout their service to the nation. The funds raised by the Stop & Shop campaign will support this mission, which is delivered through various programs, including:

• The USO Care Package Program, which provides service members with two  types of care packages – a Snack Pack and a Toiletry Pack. More than 200,000 care packages were delivered in 2020.
• Mobile USOs act as USO centers on wheels and provide field support to service members. Vehicles travel to events and military exercises to serve as places of respite, and provide service members snacks, refreshments and occasionally home-cooked meals. This fleet of vehicles also delivers USO services to areas without brick-and-mortar centers, and is used to support National Guard deployments for natural disasters and to help communities in times of crisis.
• The USO Pathfinder Transition Program helps service members and their families navigate the transition from military service to thriving veteran status. The program also supports military spouses at any point in their military journey as they transition from one installation to the next. Through individualized action plans and a network of partners and resources, the program focuses on employment, education, financial wellness, mentoring and increased access to relevant veteran resources in their communities when separation from service occurs.

Since the campaign’s inception more than seven years ago, Stop & Shop has helped raise more than $5 million for military service members.

“Every year, the generosity of Stop & Shop associates and customers grows and helps to make a real difference in the USO’s ability to strengthen and connect service members and their families,” said Chad Hartman, VP, development and corporate alliances at the Washington, D.C.-based USO. “We are so grateful for this partnership and annual campaign that helps to unify military supporters to give more than thanks to those who serve us all.”

Meanwhile, Stop & Shop’s 31st annual Food for Friends campaign recently raised more than $2 million for its 12 regional food bank partners to combat summer hunger in the communities it serves, breaking all previous years’ donation records.

Ahold Delhaize USA, a division of Zaandam, Netherlands-based Ahold Delhaize, is the parent company for Ahold Delhaize’s U.S. companies, consisting of Food Lion, Giant Food, The Giant Co., Hannaford, and Stop & Shop, as well as e-grocer Peapod; Retail Business Services, a U.S. support services company providing services to the brands; and Peapod Digital Labs, its e-commerce engine. Operating more than 2,000 stores across 23 states, Ahold Delhaize USA is No. 10 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in the United States.