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Sheetz, Wawa Tackle COVID-19 Hunger Together

Retail rivals have partnered to provide food assistance to Pennsylvania communities
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Photograph courtesy of Wawa

UPDATE: Sheetz and Wawa have continued their alliance to provide emergency food bank relief amid the COVID-19 health crisis. In May, they donated a combined 600 lunches as well as a combined $4,000 to Feed More in Richmond, Va. Lunches included a turkey sandwich, cookie, fruit cup, string cheese and a bottle of water. Feed More collects, prepares and distributes food to people in need in 34 counties and cities in Central Virginia through its programs and a network of nearly 300 agencies. Feed More is a member of Feeding America and Meals on Wheels America. “This unique partnership between Wawa and Sheetz, who are joining forces to fight hunger and help our neighbors in need, is a great example of community in action," said Doug Pick, president and CEO of Feed More. "We’re very grateful for their continued support and dedication to the neighbors we serve.”

ALTOONA and WAWA, Pa. — Sheetz and Wawa—convenience-store chains with one of the industry's biggest rivalries—have partnered to provide emergency relief to Pennsylvania food banks amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Using the slogan "Working Together to Fight Hunger," Sheetz and Wawa (listed alphabetically) have donated a combined 1,000 lunches as well as a combined $4,000 to both Helping Harvest Food Bank in Reading, Pa., and Second Harvest Food Bank of Lehigh Valley and Northeast Pennsylvania. Lunches included a turkey sandwich, cookie, fruit cup, string cheese and bottle of water.

“The coronavirus pandemic has created a dramatic increase in food insecurity across the communities we serve,” said Joe Sheetz, CEO of Sheetz. “With a combined mission of feeding people, our hope is to support those impacted by this pandemic, to provide relief to ensure that food is not added to the list of worries as we fight this pandemic.”

“Now more than ever, we must join together to help our neighbors and the communities we serve who are struggling amid the spread of the coronavirus,” said Chris Gheysens, president and CEO of Wawa. “We are also deeply grateful to our food bank partners who are working tirelessly to provide nourishment to individuals and families in need during these difficult times.”

  • Click here to read CSP’s ongoing coverage of COVID-19 and its effect on convenience stores.

Using the slogan Working Together to Fight Hunger, employees from Wawa and Sheetz have delivered 500 lunches to local food bank Helping Harvest. The companies have also donated $2,000 each to provide hunger relief to its communities, including quarantined senior citizens, according to WFMZ. Delivered meals include a turkey sandwich, cookie, fruit cup, string cheese and bottle of water.

“These are tough times we’re trying to navigate,” Gheysens told WFMZ. “We are proud to partner with Sheetz to fight hunger in our communities. We’re in this together.”

Based in Reading, Pa., Helping Harvest collects, purchases, stores and distributes more than 7 million pounds of food annually to the more than 320 programs that feed the hungry in Pennsylvania’s Berks and Schuylkill Counties.

“These are obviously very stressful times for everybody,” Sheetz told the news outlet. “We’re very proud to partner with Wawa to support causes that support people in our local communities. But remember—we’re all in this together.”

Altoona, Pa.-based Sheetz Inc. is a family-owned and -operated c-store chain with approximately 600 locations in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio and North Carolina. It is No. 14 on the Top 40 update to CSP’s 2019 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by number of retail outlets. CSP will release the complete 2020 list in June.

Wawa, based in Wawa, Pa., has more than 870 c-stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Florida. The company is No. 10 on the Top 40 update to CSP’s 2019 Top 202.

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