Through fun shopping cart race, ShopRite helps fight hunger on Staten Island

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — In a four-minute dash through ShopRite at Hylan Plaza, eight Staten Island non-profit leaders raced to fill their carts with food, all to be donated to local food banks and pantries, along with cash from the owners of three Staten Island ShopRites.

The cart with the highest value of items determined ShopRite’s donation to each organization, and Lt. Esther Mobley, of the Salvation Army in Stapleton, was the winner — with a total of $500.

Ian W. Yanda, chief of staff of Assemblyman Michael Tannousis (R-East Shore/Brooklyn), also raced and shopped for food items to be donated.

Mobley said the event was really fun.

“I was more motivated by the fact that everything we collected will be donated to those in hunger,’’ she said. “I was focused on grabbing food that people can stretch for a long way for their families. I also took into account the size of it. I knew I wanted to get the larger size because we have big families that we want to feed.”

The event, which many of the shoppers said reminded them of a sweepstake, is part of the annual ShopRite Partners In Caring (SRPIC) Cheerios contest, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

Taking place at three Staten Island ShopRites, including ShopRite of Forest & Richmond and ShopRite of Veterans Road, the competition underscores SRPIC’s mission since 1999 to support local food banks and nonprofits.

Since its inception, SRPIC has donated $62 million to over 2,200 charities, raising awareness about food insecurity and inspiring community action.

“It was like a grocery sweepstake,” said Jean Council, of Bait-ul Jamaat House of Community. “I was thinking about getting food that the elderly would probably eat… less salt and less sugar.”

She explained that on the first and third Thursday of each month, Bait-ul Jamaat House of Community, a non-profit founded in 2015 by five Muslim families, packs food bags for those unable to leave their homes, and delivers it directly to their front door.

It also runs a food pantry for those who can visit. Their Feed Up program (Halal for the Soul / Soup for the Soul) provides hot halal meals to all families in need, and over the past nine years, it has served 96,892 families, according to its website.

“It was crazy; It blew my mind,” said Terry Troia, president and CEO of Project Hospitality.

“I always think about what people need to eat,’’ Troia said. “I don’t ever think about how much is this costing me right now. That’s a privilege to be able to say that because people are deciding between what’s the cheapest beans, the cheapest soup, the cheapest juice, the cheapest milk . . . and that’s why pantries exist, when people can’t afford to do this.”

Troia shared that she focused on getting the most protein-rich foods for her cart to donate. It was packed with tuna, soup, juice, and cooking oil, which she noted is quite expensive.

James Ciccolella, president of Feeding with TLC Inc., said he has participated in this event before, and that it is exciting to get a donation.

Other organizations that participated were Community Outreach Ministry of Stapleton, Stapleton UAME Church, Christian Pentecostal Church, and Oakwood Heights Community Church.

“We will be donating $500 to all eight of the organizations here,” said Timothy Mannix, whose family owns the three Mannix Family Markets/ShopRites on Staten Island. “Thank you, again, for everything that you guys do to help fight food insecurity on Staten Island.”

With the $500, Janice Wong, of Oakwood Heights Community Church, said she will be coming back to the Shop Rite to buy more food to donate.

“Our shelves are empty,’’ Wong said. “People don’t donate in the summer, so right now we have zero pasta, zero peanut butter … so we’ll be here next week.”