RIO GRANDE – Past their cashiers, customers of the Rio Grande ShopRite found community leaders and food bank members bagging their groceries Sept. 14.
Those baggers included Middle Township Mayor Timothy Donohue, Middle Township Board of Education Member James Norris, Chuck Farrow from Bethel Community Food Bank, and Tina Johnson from Cape May Community Closet.
The dignitaries were supporting the store’s annual “Help Bag Hunger Day,” a yearly event held at the Rio Grande ShopRite to encourage donations to ShopRite Partners in Caring, an initiative made by the grocery retailer to fight hunger in the community.
ShopRite Partners in Caring holds the event in September in correlation with National Hunger Awareness Month.
The Rio Grande store is striving to reach a goal of $12,000. The funds raised will be divided among food banks in the county, to help provide food for people in need of a filled pantry.
ShopRites throughout the county are holding events Sept. 14-21 to raise money for the cause.
Assistant Store Manager Bernadette Eickenhofer has been through other events throughout September in years past, and she enjoys seeing donations rise throughout the month.
“It’s more of a sense of community,” said Eickenhofer. “It’s always nice to be a part of that to help stamp out hunger.”
Eickenhofer said that she is planning on taking the fundraising outside of the store’s doors. She is planning a bowling event this month, and hopes to see her employees take part in the fight against hunger in Cape May County.
