Stop & Shop Proud of Pride Commitment

6/26/2020

Stop & Shop Proud of Pride Commitment LGBTQ+

Stop & Shop associates made face masks out of towels that, before the pandemic, would have been handed out at Pride parades across its Northeast market area, including Boston's, seen above in 2019.

To celebrate Pride Month in June, Stop & Shop has donated $50,000 to seven local organizations supporting the LGBTQ+ community across the grocer’s footprint of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey. Earlier this year, Stop & Shop was named a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality, receiving a top score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2020 Corporate Equality Index.

Along with the $50,000, Stop & Shop employees repurposed Pride towels that, before the pandemic, were intended to be handed out at Pride parades across the Northeast into hand-sewn face masks that will go to area LGBTQ+ organizations. What’s more, the grocer donated several hundred reusable bags in June to local food pantries to help members of the LGBTQ+ community dealing with homelessness and HIV/AIDS.

“Each year, we look forward to supporting Pride Parades in our communities,” said Gordon Reid, president of Quincy, Massachusetts-based Stop & Shop. “Even though they couldn’t take place this year, Stop & Shop wanted to show our support for the LGBTQ+ community. Not only did our associates get out their sewing machines to craft masks for donation, we also identified seven local organization that provide advocacy and education for LBGTQ+ youth to continue to show our support for this community.”

The $50,000 donation will go to GLAD (National; Boston); Roxbury Youthworks (Roxbury, Massachusetts); BAGLY (Boston); Rhode Island Youth Pride (Providence, Rhode Island); Hartford True Colors (Hartford, Connecticut); The Door (New York); and VNA (Asbury Park, New Jersey).

Stop & Shop's support of the LGBTQ+ community also extends to its suppliers, among which are Peanut Butter & Co., a NGLCC-certified, LGBT-owned supplier; and Stonewall Kitchen Products.

The Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. LLC, an Ahold Delhaize USA company, employs nearly 60,000 associates and operates more than 400 stores throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey. Ahold Delhaize USA is No. 11 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2020 list of the top food retailers in North America.