Hunger-Fighting Artist Featured on Cheerios Box

Ognen Trpeski has a lot to be proud of.

The young Paramus artist is featured on a special edition box of Cheerios along with his winning T-shirt design that will continue to aid in the fight against hunger.  

Trpeski is the grand prize winner in Shop Rite’s Partners in Caring T-Shirt Design contest which challenged customers to express what the issue of hunger means to them through their own original design.

The Shop Rite team brought Trpeski and his family and friends to the Paramus supermarket Tuesday afternoon to celebrate his achievement and to officially unveil the special edition General Mills Cheerios box which features the young artist and his design.

Joining them for the unveiling was Christopher Gardner, author of the “The Pursuit of Happyness” an inspirational memoir based on his own personal story of struggling. Gardner has partnered with the Shop Rite Partners in Caring team and helped pick Trpeski’s winning design.

Gardner said he was grateful to take part in these efforts to help raise awareness about who is hungry in this country today.

“The faces of hunger have changed tremendously since I had the experience I had with my son many years ago,” said the author. “Today we are talking about working men and women struggling to take care of their families who rely on food banks and food pantries around the country.”

Gardner also pointed out that there are senior citizens who are in situations where they must ask themselves if they can afford to pay for their medications or to pay for food.

The design which features the words “Fight Hunger” at the top and simply features a fork, knife and spoon with the words “choose your weapon” in the middle was visible throughout the store Tuesday.

Shop Rite associates and employees proudly wore the T-shirt. The artwork was even displayed in icing on a large sheet cake. Of course Trpeski proudly sported the T-shirt as well.

As grand prize winner, the Paramus resident received $2,500 and a matching amount went to a local food bank, the Community FoodBank of New Jersey.

Last week Trpeski’s design was also featured on the runway in Korto Momolu’s fashion show during New York Fashion Week.

This design contest is one of the supermarket chain’s initiatives in the fight against hunger done each September during National Hunger Action Month.