Select ShopRite New Jersey Stores Launch Add Milk! Campaign

Newark, NJ (June 28, 2022) – ShopRite is launching the Add Milk! campaign at select stores to improve access to milk and dairy products for low-income families.

The program, which runs for a full year, boosts the purchasing power of NJ SNAP dollars spent on milk and other dairy products, helping shoppers purchase more nutritious food at a time when every dollar is so important for struggling families. SNAP stands for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Add Milk! is a pilot program of Baylor University’s Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty and is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Here’s how Add Milk! works: When SNAP customers purchase skim milk or one percent milk with their EBT card, a dollar paper coupon is generated for every whole dollar spent.  The coupon can be used on their next dairy purchase, and any dairy product can be redeemed that lists fluid cow’s milk or cream as a first ingredient – yogurt, cheese, and more!

ShopRite stores launching Add Milk! include:

• ShopRite of Newark: 206 Springfield Ave., Newark, NJ 07103
• ShopRite of East Orange: 533 Martin Luther King Blvd., East Orange, NJ 07019
• ShopRite of Kearny: 100 Passaic Ave., Kearny, NJ 07032
• ShopRite of Hillside: 370 Route 22, West Hillside, NJ 07205
• ShopRite of Metro Plaza: Luis Marin Blvd & 6th St., Jersey City, NJ 07310
• ShopRite of Columbia Park: 3147 Kennedy Boulevard, North Bergen, NJ 07047
• ShopRite of Bayonne: 583-9 Avenue C, Bayonne, NJ 07002
• ShopRite of Elizabeth: 865 W. Grand St., Elizabeth, NJ 07208

“USDA is committed to prioritizing nutrition security – which includes consistent access to healthy, affordable foods and beverages that promote good health, such as milk,” said Stacy Dean, Deputy Undersecretary for USDA’s Food Nutrition and Consumer Services. “This innovative program is an excellent example of collaborative action with our partners that uses incentives to encourage SNAP households to purchase and consume more milk—a win-win for promoting healthy diets and supporting American agriculture.”

“ShopRite is proud to take part in a program that helps families get the food they want and need for their families,” said Neil Greenstein, owner and operator of the ShopRite of Newark, a participant in Add Milk!  and the setting for the recent kick-off of the program “We know that milk and dairy provide important and essential nutrients for children, and we believe the Add Milk! incentive will make it easier for families, especially those struggling with food insecurity, to access those important foods.”

Ninety percent of Americans do not meet the recommended amounts for dairy consumption, according to Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty.

“Milk is one of our healthiest, safest, and most sustainable beverages – and it is essential for a child’s development,” said Dr. Lori Kanitz, Project Director at the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty. “The Add Milk! Healthy Fluid Milk Incentive program could not come at a better time. With families feeling the pinch of rising prices and the lingering effects of the pandemic, the USDA’s commitment to keeping kids healthy through the Add Milk! program makes milk more affordable for those who need it most.”

Add Milk! seeks to increase the purchase and consumption of fluid cow’s milk, which promotes proper child brain and bone development, provides a natural source of protein and reduces the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes.

“We applaud the collaboration among USDA, Baylor University, and ShopRite to bring healthy, nutritious milk options to SNAP participants in New Jersey as part of the Add Milk! Program,” said Michael Dykes, D.V.M., president and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association. “Milk contributes 13 nutrients to the American diet, including high quality protein, calcium, vitamin D, and potassium, and health benefits including better bone health and lower risk for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The Add Milk! Healthy Fluid Milk Incentive program should be viewed as a positive model for strengthening the health and wellness of children and adults participating in SNAP in cities and states across the country.”

“The Community FoodBank of New Jersey is excited to support the Add Milk! program,” added Jennifer Nelson, Network Leader at the Community FoodBank of New Jersey. “This program will improve food security in our communities by giving families the resources they need to choose dairy products that will help them lead healthy and active lives.”
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About ShopRite
ShopRite is the registered trademark of Wakefern Food Corp., a retailer-owned cooperative based in Keasbey, NJ, and the largest supermarket cooperative in the United States.  With more than 270 ShopRite supermarkets located throughout New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland, ShopRite serves more than six million customers each week.  Through its ShopRite Partners In Caring program, ShopRite is dedicated to fighting hunger in the communities it serves. Since the program began in 1999, ShopRite Partners In Caring has donated $43 million to food banks that support more than 2,100 worthy charities. As a title sponsor of the ShopRite LPGA Classic Presented by Acer, ShopRite has donated $30 million to local organizations, hospitals and community groups. For more information, please visit www.shoprite.com.