Corporate Responsibility

The Stop & Shop–Giant Family Foundation’s annual golf classic, held Aug. 30 at four golf courses across Massachusetts, raised more than $1 million for local charities dedicated to families and children. Over seven years, the single-day event has raised more than $7 million for charity.

The foundation’s Golf Classic starts off Deutsche Bank Championship week annually by hosting the golf event and securing support from national and local vendor partners to continually reach new milestones in funds raised.

This year’s event was held at four Massachusetts and Rhode Island golf courses: TPC Boston in Norton, Mass.; Black Rock Country Club in Hingham, Mass.; Brae Burn Country Club in West Newton, Mass.; and the Golf Club of Cape Cod in East Falmouth, Mass. An evening reception at the TPC Boston ended the tournament for the 420 participating golfers.

At TPC Boston, PGA and LPGA TOUR players paired up with amateur participants. The professional players included PGA TOUR professionals Brad Faxon, Brett Quigley, Tim Petrovic, along with LPGA professionals Reilly Rankin, Nancy Scranton and Vicki Goetze Ackerman.

“The Stop & Shop-Giant Family Foundation Golf Classic continues to be a great vehicle to help us raise money for so many deserving charities,” said Mark McGowan, president of Stop & Shop’s New England division. “Through the generous support of our vendor partners, we are able to make significant contributions to the communities we serve and impact the lives of many families and children.”

Last year, the foundation introduced a Food Bank program focused on children. In its second year, the program will fund food banks served by Stop & Shop and Giant Foods with $500,000 worth of grants.

In addition to the Golf Classic, Stop & Shop ran a food drive at its Mansfield, Mass., store on Sept. 1. Customers were able to donate canned and nonperishable food products or make cash donations to the Greater Boston Food Bank.

Further, on Sept. 2, Stop & Shop joined with State Street Corp., another Founders Club partner of the Deutsche Bank Championship, and the PGA TOUR Wives foundation for the second-annual “Healthy Packs” initiative to provide about 2,000 pre-packed reusable bags of healthy snack options to needy children throughout the South Boston, Brockton, and Dorchester communities of Massachusetts.

Platinum Plus and Platinum sponsors in 2010 include Edy’s Grand Ice Cream, Nestle Purina Pet Care and Nestle USA, Kimberly-Clark, Advantage Sales & Marketing, General Mills, Georgia Pacific, Kellogg Co., Perdue Farms, Apple & Eve, C&S Wholesale, Bimbo Bakeries, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Pepsi, Garelick Farms, ConAgra Foods, Ocean Spray Cranberries,, Minute Maid, Campbell Soup Co., SC Johnson, Turkey Hill Ice Cream, Heinz, Acosta Sales & Marketing, and Dr Pepper Snapple Group.

The Stop & Shop-Giant Family Foundation Golf Classic is part of a wider marketing and community relations program the grocer oversees, with the marketing assistance of Boston-based Fenway Sports Group.

The Stop & Shop Supermarket Co., based in Quincy, Mass., employs more than 59,000 associates and operates stores throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire, New York and New Jersey. The Stop & Shop/Giant Family Foundation supports education and recreational programs for children in the communities served by the Stop & Shop Supermarket Company and Giant Food.