SPRINGFIELD — Price Rite Marketplace teamed up with anti-hunger organization Feed the Children and event partners Pepsi and Revival Time Evangelical Center to distribute food and essentials to 400 local families on June 16. The community event is part of the supermarket retailer’s 2021 Feeding Minds & Bodies Campaign in partnership with Feed the Children, which helps food-insecure families in the communities where Price Rite Marketplace stores operate.

Each family, pre-identified by Revival Time Evangelical Center, received a 25-pound box of food; 15-pound box of essentials like shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and personal-care items; a backpack filled with school supplies, and additional shelf-stable items provided by Price Rite Marketplace.

“We are pleased to continue our partnership with Feed the Children to help combat childhood hunger,” said Jim Dorey, president of Price Rite Marketplace. “Supporting the communities we serve is a top priority for us, and after the year we’ve been through, we are needed now more than ever. We are proud of our team’s continued work helping families during difficult times.”

Fighting hunger is at the heart of Price Rite Marketplace’s charitable giving, and, paired with Feed the Children’s vision to create a world where no child goes to bed hungry, the two created an initiative called Feeding Minds & Bodies, which is designed to help bring attention to and fight the serious issue of childhood hunger. Price Rite Marketplace and Feed the Children help families by providing food, personal-care items, and school supplies throughout the year. With more than 15.6 million households living with food insecurity in the U.S., hunger remains a serious issue in many communities.

“The Price Rite Marketplace partnership means a so very much to Feed the Children and, more importantly, to the families we serve,” said Travis Arnold, president and CEO of Feed the Children. “Those living paycheck to paycheck do not have a safety net. Our partners are a critical part of providing compassionate support to those who are facing tough decisions about how to care for their families.”

Since partnering with Feed the Children in 2015, Price Rite Marketplace has contributed nearly 3 million pounds of food, totaling more than $9 million in gift-in-kind donations, helping more than 145,000 people in 49 cities.