Stop & Shop Lends Support to MS 391’s “Our Happy Place Food Pantry”

Stop & Shop has provided $12,500 in gift cards to help support the “Our Happy Place Food Pantry” located inside MS 391, The Angelo Patri Middle School, located on Folin Street in the Fordham section of the Bronx.

According to Danny Rivera, The Community School Director of MS 391,the Food Pantry opened in 2019 under a grant from The Food Bank For New York City serves the families of the 350- students who attend the school. A number of students enrolled in the school were impacted by a devastating apartment building fire last January, which claimed the lives of 17 immigrants from Gambia in West Africa.

Rivera says, the food pantry is able to provide dry goods as well as foods that need to be refrigerated or stored in freezers including: beans, peanut butter, pasta, tuna, sweet potatoes, boxed cereal, olive oil, canned fruit, frozen fruit, chicken, turkey, wings, ham, chicken nuggets and chicken tenders. The pantry also provides families with toiletries, feminine hygiene products, household cleaning supplies and detergent.

The donation is part of Stop & Shop School Food Pantry Program, which 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.

The Pantry is open twice a month and can accommodate emergency requests from families in need.