How Stop & Shop is fighting school hunger

Stop & Shop has extended its partnership with Badger Technologies, a product division of global manufacturing company Jabil, to increase support for Feed it Forward’s charitable giving initiatives while reinforcing the positive impact Marty the Robot has made on customers and communities.

As part of a shared community commitment, Badger Technologies, Jabil and Stop & Shop are sponsoring a "Selfies with Marty" program at the National Retail Federation’s NRF 2024 show, held Jan. 14-16 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City, according to a news release. Everyone in attendance is invited to visit Badger Technologies/Jabil at booth No. 4375 and take a selfie with Marty. 

Badger Technologies says it will donate 10 meals for every selfie taken and posted to Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn with #MartyTheRobot during the conference in support of 47 New York City partner schools in the Stop & Shop School Food Pantry Program.

“We are grateful to work with Badger Technologies and Jabil to support our School Food Pantry Program throughout New York City. By taking and posting selfies with Marty, NRF 2024 attendees, exhibitors, and retail industry visionaries can join us in helping local schools fight hunger among students in need,” Karen Mitchell, chief marketing officer and senior vice president of marketing at Stop & Shop, said in the release. “Nourishing people through food is an integral part of our DNA that drives our dedication to addressing hunger in the communities we serve.” 

Debuted in January 2019, Marty robots stay busy at nearly 400 Stop & Shop stores supporting an expanding list of in-store duties, including scanning shelves to expedite product restocking and confirming pricing information, as well as monitoring floor conditions for spills and other hazards. In carrying out daily tasks, Marty robots have traveled more than 1.9 million miles and identified over 9.6 million potential floor hazards, the company says.

Now Marty robots are rolling into fighting hunger.

“As champions of local communities throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey, Stop & Shop is continuing to lower the barriers that limit students’ ability to succeed in the classroom,” Badger Technologies CEO William “BJ” Santiago said in the release. “We are proud to join our colleagues at Jabil in supporting this important cause and invite everyone at NRF’24 to stop by our booth for a selfie with Marty. Together, we can make a difference in helping provide students with much-needed meals.”

Launched in 2019, the Stop & Shop School Food Pantry Program works directly with school partners to support more than 40,000 students and families facing food insecurity issues, the release said. According to the USDA, more than 13 million children faced hunger in 2022, which translates to one in every five children living in a food-insecure household. To help students perform their best, Stop & Shop says it identifies schools in need within its communities and provides gift cards plus food and personal care items to stock the shelves of hundreds of school food pantries. 

As part of the Stop & Shop team since 2019, Marty plays an important role in many of the organization’s community outreach efforts, including making a debut appearance at Fenway Park in September 2023 as part of a special event with the Boston Red Sox to raise awareness for Hunger Action Month, according to the release. Marty also visits local schools and robotics clubs, attends events to honor military members and supports Stop & Shop’s efforts to end pediatric and breast cancer, the company says.

Stop & Shop says the robots also scan more than 7 million products daily to improve on-shelf product availability. As a result, Marty enables store associates to spend more time with customers while improving store safety, operational efficiencies and customer shopping experiences.

Related link: More information on Stop & Shop’s community involvement