Wegmans working with local food banks, American Red Cross on food and ice distributions

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Wegmans Food Markets on Monday announced it has worked closely with the Monmouth County Food Bank and the American Red Cross in New Jersey on food and ice distributions since Hurricane Sandy came through the area last week. 

“I have stayed in close touch with both organizations on a daily basis to understand their needs, and I will continue to do so,” stated Linda Lovejoy, Wegmans’ community relations manager. “We have always worked closely with food banks and disaster relief agencies so that we can react quickly when disaster strikes.”

Lovejoy also noted that in affected areas of Pennsylvania where Wegmans has stores, individual stores have donated food and ice directly to agencies that are operating emergency shelters.

"Rather than implement a separate scanning program for Hurricane Sandy, we are reminding our customers that by giving at check out to their local food bank, they are, in fact, helping the entire food relief system help the victims of Hurricane Sandy throughout the Northeast," Lovejoy noted. "Food banks will help today, but also in the weeks and months to come.”

To date, Wegmans delivered three truckloads of food to MCFB, with an additional truckload to be delivered Tuesday and three truckloads of food and ice to the American Red Cross central distribution facility in New Jersey. The combined value of the donation is approximately $200,000. 

Wegmans operates seven stores in New Jersey, two of which are in Monmouth County, an area severely impacted by the hurricane. 

All 81 of Wegmans stores in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and Massachusetts were able to stay open and stocked throughout the storm and its aftermath as a result of advance planning, Lovejoy said. Generators were used to power stores in areas where utility power failed, and Wegmans’ merchants planned ahead with vendors to have an adequate supply of the most in-demand products. 

Wegmans also was able to successfully deliver orders to its stores. All stores are now back on utility power and have resumed their regular hours of operation, the company reported.