Food from Stop & Shop donated to the Citizens Inn Haven from Hunger food pantry. (Shari Small/WBZ NewsRadio)
PEABODY, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — With the Stop & Shop strike entering its second week, the chain donated thousands of pounds of food that would have gone to waste—and now, some of that food may end up feeding striking Stop & Shop workers in need.
The Citizens Inn Haven from Hunger food pantry has received nearly 4,000 lbs. of food from the chain.
"All fresh produce, all foods of very high quality that we distribute—all of the food would otherwise have gone to waste and gone to the landfill, and not get into the hands of folks who need it the most," food pantry director Kate Benashski told WBZ NewsRadio's Shari Small.
Benashski said the timing could not be better, as the need is great.
"Not only is it a holiday week, but it's a school vacation week, so the children are home from school," she said.
Just a mile away, Stop & Shop strikers like Dennis, living on a $100 a week stipend, say they're relying on food from that pantry to feed their families.
"I just think it's a sad, sad day that it has to come full circle like that," he said. "The irony is just sickening."
"We're here to help anybody who needs food in Peabody, Salem, Lynnfield," Benashski said. "We'd be very happy to make any kind of accomodation or special arrangement for the Stop & Shop employees who need food to get over this hump here."
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WBZ NewsRadio's Shari Small (@ShariSmallNews) reports