Shaw’s Supermarkets recently celebrated the grand re-opening of its stores in Auburn and Lewiston, Maine. The company commemorated the occasion by donating a trailer to the Good Shepherd Food-Bank as part of its commitment to supporting the organization’s critical mission to provide food to those in need.
The newly revamped stores were designed to offer customers an expanded variety of the freshest produce, top-quality meat and seafood and a large selection of local products. The new formats also provide a comfortable shopping experience with a focus on delivering premium customer service, according to a company news release.
“From the products and services to design layout, Shaw’s is committed to delivering a shopping experience that meets the needs of our local customers,” said Shaw’s President Mike Stigers. “The redesigned Auburn and Lewiston locations bring a greater selection and variety to our customers, while offering a fresh, new feel to their shopping experience. We look forward to continuing to provide our neighbors with quality products and outstanding service they expect from Shaw’s.”
Shaw’s commemorated the re-openings with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the stores July 13. Town officials and community members from Auburn and Lewiston joined Stigers as well as other Shaw’s executives and associates at the event. As part of the ceremony, Shaw’s made $2,000 donations to St. Mary’s Food Pantry in Auburn, and the Trinity Jubilee Center in Lewiston.
The highlight of the day came with the presentation of a trailer to the Good Shepherd Food-Bank. The donation was rooted in Shaw’s commitment to helping the organizations that support hunger relief.
“As a grocer, we understand the need for hunger relief is something that is constant year round,” added Stigers. “We have a great relationship with the Good Shepherd Food-Bank and support them year-round through programs such as Fresh Rescue, which provides the food bank with fresh items such as meat, dairy and produce. It is our hope this trailer will help to enhance the important work they do on a daily basis to help the people of Maine.”
“The support Good Shepherd Food-Bank receives from Shaw’s is critical to our efforts to eliminate hunger in Maine,” said Jim Dowe, interim president and CEO at the food bank. “In the past two years, Shaw’s has become one of our largest retail partners in the fight against hunger in Maine. The donation of this trailer will allow us to pick up and deliver millions of pounds of food each year to Mainers in need of our help.”
Fresh Rescue Food Donations play key a part in Shaw’s waste diversion efforts—last year, Shaw’s donated more than a half-million pounds of food in Maine that otherwise would have been wasted. In fact, the Auburn location was one of the first stores in the company to reach a major environmental milestone in the Shaw’s “zero waste” program by diverting more than 90 percent of all store waste from local landfills.
