News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
DATE:
 November 21, 2017
CONTACT: Kathy Romanowski
716-635-5577

   
TOPS MARKETS EXPANDS ANNUAL FOOD FOR FAMILIES PROGRAM
Signature Event to Offer Virtual Component in 11th Season

WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. – For more than a decade, the term Little Brown Bags of Hope has become synonymous with Tops Friendly Markets and the annual Food for Families campaign. What began as a one-day campaign in Buffalo, NY, to benefit the Food Bank of WNY has since expanded across the entire chain’s footprint reaching into Rochester, NY, and Syracuse, NY, as well as Erie, PA, working with 11 food banks across all of the chain’s market and impacting more than 1.3 million people in need. Last year alone, and thanks to the extreme generosity of the Rochester community, over 60,000 pounds of food was donated to Foodlink in the campaign’s tenth season in the Rochester market.

This year TOPS is once again looking for the communities support to surpass its corporate goal of 1.5 million meals, giving hope to families in need this holiday season. The campaign, which has been expanded to run an entire month, kicked off November 19 and will run until December 16, 2017. New in 2017, customers will now be able to purchase a Little Brown Bag of Hope paper icon at the register. Organizers moved away from the physical bags of food this year to increase efficiencies, allowing the food banks to expedite donations from the store to their operating facilities and then into the market. At the register, customers will now 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.

-more- Also new in 2017, TOPS has introduced the virtual Little Brown Bag of Hope. Customers will now able to purchase the same $5 Breakfast bag, $10 Lunch bag, and/or a $20 Dinner bag online by simply visiting www.topsmarkets.com/littlebrownbags so no matter what the weather, a donation can be made right from their phone, tablet, or desktop.

Many locals love the tradition of bringing or purchasing their donation at the store and joining the TOPS team, local media sponsors News-8 WROC and 96.5 WCMF, and volunteers for the one-day food drive, which will culminate with the Food for Families campaign on Friday, December 8, 2017 from 5:00 am – 9:00 pm. The traditional Little Brown Bags of Hope will be available, along with the new donation elements, at the following Tops Friendly Market locations:

1215 Jefferson Rd., Henrietta 3507 Mt. Read Blvd. Greece

“Foodlink is grateful to collaborate with Tops Friendly Markets and our media partners for Food for Families once again this year,” Executive Director Julia Tedesco said. “We live in a generous community and know that Tops shoppers will come through in a big way to ensure no individuals or families go hungry this holiday season.”

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Tops Markets, LLC, is headquartered in Williamsville, NY and operates 171 full-service supermarkets with five additional by franchisees under the Tops banner. Tops employs over 15,000 associates and is a leading full-service grocery retailer in New York, northern Pennsylvania, western Vermont, and north central Massachusetts. For more information about Tops Markets, visit the company's website at www.topsmarkets.com.

 

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