Stop & Shop Supports 15th School Food Pantry in NJ with $7,500 to Bergen Community College's Care Center

With the holidays around the corner, Bergen Community College and Stop & Shop held an oversized check presentation, as funds from the donation will help fund the College’s food pantry, ‘Bergen Cares Center’ for the remainder of the school year. The ‘Bergen Cares Center’, serves the Bergen Community College students, and for the first year, it will be supported by a $7,500 donation from Stop & Shop that will enable the college to assist more than 2,500 students and their families by purchasing specific food items and other essential products.

According to the New Jersey Office of Higher Education’s September 2025 survey, nearly 40% of community college students in the state experience food insecurity. At Bergen Community College, 16,400 students are enrolled and nearly 47% of those students are Pell eligible.

The ‘Bergen Cares Center’ is open seven days a week and serves the Bergen Community College students and their families all year round. The ‘Bergen Cares Center’ offers its students and families shelf stable food, canned food, fresh veggies, meat, eggs, dairy products and personal care items, such as toothpaste, deodorant, and feminine care products.

“The Bergen Cares Center represents an important component of the College’s holistic student support services that provide resources outside of the classroom so students can succeed inside of the classroom,” Bergen President Eric M. Friedman, Ph.D., said. “We are incredibly grateful that Stop & Shop recognizes the importance of these efforts and has invested in our students’ care and well-being.”

The Stop & Shop School Food Pantry Program was established to help limit barriers impacting students’ ability to succeed in the classroom by making sure that they have consistent access to food. Stop & Shop supports local schools’ existing food pantries or helps them establish a new one by providing gift card donations to help stock their shelves.

“At Stop & Shop, we believe every student deserves access to healthy, nourishing food without the stress of wondering how they’ll afford their next meal,” said Daniel Wolk, External Communications Manager for Stop & Shop. “We’re proud to support the ‘Bergen Cares Center’, which does an incredible job caring for its community and helping students succeed both academically and personally.”

Stop & Shop currently supports over 260 School Food Pantries across its five-state footprint, serving over 50,000 students and families monthly. Stop & Shop supports 15 school food pantries in New Jersey. For more information about Stop & Shop’s School Food Pantry program, visit https://stopandshop.com/pages/school-food-pantry-program.