Beyond Groceries: Stop & Shop’s Blueprint for Community Impact

QUINCY, MA – April 29, 2026 – Stop & Shop has released its 2025 Impact Report, providing a detailed look at the grocery chain’s extensive efforts in community support, employee welfare, and sustainability. The report outlines a strategy that goes far beyond retail, positioning the company as a deeply integrated partner in the neighborhoods it serves. Through significant investments in hunger relief, public health, and internal inclusion programs, the Ahold Delhaize USA company is reinforcing its century-old identity as a neighborhood grocer with a modern commitment to corporate social responsibility.

“2025 was an incredible year for Stop & Shop as we continued to focus on caring for our customers, our communities, and one another,” said Roger Wheeler, President of Stop & Shop, in a statement accompanying the report. “Most importantly, we remained true to who we are. As a caring neighbor, we used every opportunity to make a positive impact and to support community wellbeing.”

A Multi-Pronged Attack on Hunger

At the core of the report is a dramatic expansion of the company's fight against food insecurity. The Stop & Shop School Food Pantry Program, a cornerstone of this effort, grew to support over 280 schools across the Northeast. The program now provides consistent access to healthy food for more than 43,800 students and their families each month. By embedding pantries directly within schools, the initiative aims to provide stigma-free access to essentials. Since its launch in 2019, the program has been backed by a total of $7.6 million in donations from the grocer.

The real-world effect of this initiative is profound. According to a community school director at a partner school in the Bronx, the pantry is a lifeline. “It helps us provide essential support to 352 families, including the more than 30 percent of our students who are in temporary housing,” the director noted, highlighting the program’s critical role for the most vulnerable populations.

Beyond schools, Stop & Shop bolstered its long-standing relationships with 12 regional food bank partners, including several affiliates of the Feeding America network. In 2025 alone, these partnerships received over $4.3 million in financial aid and more than 18 million pounds of food donations. The company calculates this contribution is equivalent to over 23 million meals, demonstrating a consistent and large-scale effort to support regional anti-hunger operations. This includes targeted campaigns like a $2 million holiday donation in late 2024 to food banks across New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut, underscoring a pattern of sustained, high-impact giving.

Beyond the Grocery Aisle: Fostering Community Wellness

Stop & Shop’s community health initiatives extend from nutrition education to direct medical services. The company's team of registered dietitians, known as the Stop & Shop Nutrition Partners, significantly expanded their reach in 2025. They hosted 110 educational webinars that drew 18,650 virtual attendees and held 115 in-person community events, all aimed at promoting healthy living and accessible nutritional guidance.

Simultaneously, the Stop & Shop Pharmacy team played a vital role in public health. Pharmacists administered over 240,000 immunizations throughout the year. To ensure this care reached those most in need, the team organized more than 520 offsite immunization clinics, many in underserved communities. In a powerful example of program synergy, 20 of these clinics were held at School Food Pantry locations, where the pharmacy team delivered 690 free flu shots, including 275 to neighbors without health insurance. While other large retailers like Kroger report administering millions of vaccines, Stop & Shop's targeted, localized clinic model demonstrates a focused strategy on closing specific healthcare gaps at the neighborhood level.

Cultivating a Culture of Care from Within

The 2025 report also turns a lens inward, detailing initiatives designed to support and engage its nearly 50,000 associates. A significant development was the launch of ABLE (Abilities Beyond Limits & Expectations), an Associate Resource Group (ARG) created to support employees of all abilities, their families, and allies. The group focuses on fostering an inclusive workplace through learning sessions and resource sharing. A key initiative, the “ABLE to Tell My Story” panel, provided a platform for associates to share personal experiences of living with or supporting loved ones with disabilities, promoting empathy and understanding across the company.

This internal focus on care is connected directly to external action. In 2025, over 1,900 associates volunteered more than 5,900 hours of their time to support 145 different non-profit organizations, translating the company’s community-centric values into hands-on action. Further reinforcing this culture, the company introduced its inaugural Support Office Awards of Excellence, formally recognizing over 30 individuals for their outstanding performance and commitment.

The Business of Doing Good

While the report is rich with social impact data, it also reflects a savvy business strategy that aligns with growing consumer and investor interest in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance. The initiatives build brand loyalty and differentiate Stop & Shop in a competitive market where corporate responsibility is increasingly a factor in consumer choice.

Though less prominent in the report’s summary, the company’s environmental commitments are a key part of this strategy. As part of its parent company's broader goals, Stop & Shop is working to reduce its food waste by 50% by 2030, recycling unsold food into green energy and saving nearly two million trees annually through cardboard recycling. Its commitment to sustainable sourcing for all its fresh seafood and its partnership with Volta to install free electric vehicle charging stations further burnish its green credentials. These comprehensive efforts illustrate a strategic integration of corporate responsibility into the core fabric of the company's operations and brand identity.