Wakefern Makes $1M Gift to the New Jersey Health Foundation

Wakefern Food Corp. has given the New Jersey Health Foundation and its affiliate, the Foundation of UMDNJ, $1 million to establish The Dean Janeway Endowment to Advance Healthcare Excellence.

Janeway, the current president and COO of Keasbey, N.J.-based Wakefern, is retiring in January 2012 after 45 years with the company, the past 16 as president. He was recently elected chairman of the boards of the Foundation of UMDNJ and New Jersey Health Foundation.
 

Janeway will be able to designate the annual proceeds of the endowment to support research, scholarships for future health care professionals or patient care, and community service programs for the underserved, all of which are offered through the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ).

“This fund will provide [Janeway] with a meaningful opportunity to advance high-quality health care programs that mean the most to him and can have a vital impact on the health of residents throughout our state,” noted Dr. George F. Heinrich, vice chairman and CEO of the New Brunswick, N.J.-based foundation, which was established in 2002 as a not-for-profit public charity and is the parent company of the Foundation of UMDNJ.

Wakefern revealed the creation of the endowment in a tribute to Janeway at the retail cooperative’s recent annual meeting.

“What makes Dean a natural leader is that he cares about people,” said Joseph S. Colalillo, chairman and CEO of Wakefern, which currently consists of 47 members who own and operated more than 230 supermarkets under the ShopRite banner in six Mid-Atlantic states. “This endowment is an outstanding way for us to honor not only his legacy at Wakefern, but his passion for serving the community as well.”