Ocean State Job Lot Starts Annual Food Fund Drive

The spirit of generosity and compassion is ringing in the holiday season today at all Ocean State Job Lot locations as donations begin for the annual “Three Square Meals” Food Drive. For the 13th year, customers are invited to make a donation at the registers, a portion of which will be matched by Job Lot to help combat food insecurity in their community.

The chainwide in-store fundraising effort supports Ocean State Job Lot Charitable Foundation’s Three Square Meals family assistance program, which benefits food banks throughout the Northeast, including the New Hampshire Food Bank and local food distribution programs.

At a time of year when so many people focus on giving and receiving a wish list of gifts, all 120 Ocean State Job Lot stores located throughout Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, New York and New Jersey participate in this annual fundraiser. This includes stores in Concord, Derry, Hooksett, Nashua, Meredith, Milford, Newport, Northumberland, Ossipee, Peterborough, Portsmouth, Walpole and Woodsville, N.H.

The Three Square Meals family assistance program distributes food to 15 food banks in eight states, which in turn support more than 10,700 local food pantries, soup kitchens and family meal assistance programs in the store’s local community.

In 2014, the company raised more than $1.4 million for Three Square Meals, which resulted in Job Lot donating 109 tractor-trailer loads of food (a $4.2 million food value) to 15 food banks in the eight states where Job Lot stores are located. Each truckload contained about 40,000 pounds of nutritious, shelf-stable food, which served 1.2 million people. Job Lot covers all logistical expenses of the deliveries including warehousing, labor and gasoline, ensuring that every penny of every dollar raised by customers’ donations is used to buy food. Job Lot purchases the food throughout the year, negotiating the best prices to stretch these dollars.

“These donations are truly heartfelt, as they come directly from our customers and store associates, expressly for the Three Square Meals program,” says David Sarlitto of Ocean State Job Lot. “As members of the community ourselves, we strive to keep each store’s local food pantry’s shelves stocked, as well as the regional food banks that supply them. Three Square Meals is part of Job Lot’s long-term commitment to ending food insecurity, and it is the largest hunger relief initiative of its kind in the Northeast. One hundred percent of every dollar raised goes directly to the plate.”

With the Ocean State Job Lot Charitable Foundation, the company has established a long history of philanthropic leadership in the communities it serves. In addition to Three Square Meals, the Foundation also supports charities and causes including but not limited to veterans, disaster relief efforts, the performing arts, special needs children, foster children, and educational institutions and activities.