While the Food 2 Families campaign officially kicks off on Sunday, November 24, 2019, we ask that you consider joining the movement and make an online donation of a Little Brown Bag of Hope in honor of #GivingTuesday on December 3. Simply visit https://www.topsneighborshelpingneighbors.com/

If you miss #GivingTuesday, there is still plenty of time to make a donation. The Little Brown Bag of Hope campaign will continue through December 28 in store and online. Customers can easily purchase a Little Brown Bag of Hope paper icon or where available physical Little Brown Bag of Hope at the register anytime they shop. At the register customers will be asked if they want to support the campaign by buying a $5 Breakfast, $10 Lunch, and/or $20 Dinner for someone in need in our community.

Virtual Little Brown Bags of Hope will also be available for purchase online by simply visiting https://www.topsneighborshelpingneighbors.com/ so no matter what the weather, a donation can be made right from their phone, tablet, or desktop. Here customers can select what food bank they wish their donation to benefit.

“Tops Friendly Markets Food for Families campaign is a terrific and simple way to give the gift of food to those in need,” said Kristen Hanson, vice president, center store sales and merchandising, for Tops and FeedMore of WNY board member. "Many don’t realize that one in eight individuals are food insecure, and not just at the holidays, but year round. They are our neighbors, our friends, and even our family members, but we know when we work together we can truly make an impact on tackling the root cause of hunger in our community."

Many Western New Yorkers love the tradition of bringing or purchasing their donation at the store and joining the Tops team, local media sponsors WGRZ-TV Channel -2 and Townsquare Media, and volunteers for the one day food drive which will culminate with the Food 2 Families campaign on Friday, December 6, 2019 from 5:00 am – 8:00 pm. The traditional Little Brown Bags of Hope will be available at the following Tops Friendly Market locations:

5827 S. Transit Rd., Lockport 7200 Niagara Falls Blvd., Niagara Falls 3980 Maple Rd., Amherst

4777 Transit Rd., Depew S. 6150 South Park Ave., Hamburg 2101 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo “More than 168,000 individuals in FeedMore WNY’s four-country service area is at risk of hunger. This season can be an especially stressful time of year for our food-insecure neighbors as they struggle to heat their homes, pay for their utilities, and put food on the table for their families,” Tara A. Ellis, president and CEO of FeedMore WNY, said. “FeedMore WNY could not fight hunger without the support of our wonderful partners. We are thankful for our friends at Tops Friendly Markets, WGRZ-TV and Townsquare Media for partnering with us for the Annual Food 2 Families. We encourage the Western New York community to support this event. Every donation will help FeedMore WNY nourish local children, families, and our aging community members during the holiday season and into the New Year.”

History of Food for Families What began as a one day campaign in Buffalo, NY to benefit the Food Bank of WNY has since expanded across the entire chains footprint reaching into Rochester, and Syracuse, NY as well as Erie, PA impacting nine local food banks. Last year alone, and thanks to the extreme generosity of the Western New York community, over 185,000 pounds of food were donated, and over 329,000 pounds of food were donated chain wide.

Can Creation, now in its 12th year, has grown to be a staple symbol of the campaign as well. This year associates from Carmina Wood Morris DPC Architecture, Engineering, & Interior Design will be building a display titled “Hunger is no Game” made completely of food at the South Park Ave. location. This along with additional product will be donated to FeedMore WNY, totaling $1,000. The display will be built December 2-5, 2019 and be on display through December 9th.

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Tops Markets, LLC is headquartered in Williamsville, NY and operates 159 full-service supermarkets with five additional franchise stores and is the largest private, for-profit employer in Western New York. As a leading grocery retailer in New York, northern Pennsylvania, and western Vermont, and with the support of 14,000 associates, our core mission is to help our communities flourish. We support programs that seek to eradicate hunger and disease; promote the education of our youth; and to ensure we reduce environmental waste and energy consumption while providing our customers with sustainably sourced, high quality products. For more information, visit www.topsmarkets.com

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