Veterans Food Pantry Receives Financial Boost

MONTGOMERY – Brett Wing, President and Chief Operating Officer of ShopRite Supermarkets Inc., and Vice President of Operations Tom Urtz presented Orange County Executive Steven M. Neuhaus with a check for $215,000 for the County’s Veterans Food Pantry last Wednesday.

“We want to thank ShopRite for working tirelessly to advocate for our veterans,” Neuhaus said. “ShopRite is a dedicated partner and has greatly enhanced the quality of life of these deserving men and women and their families. We are proud to accept this donation, made possible by the generosity of ShopRite’s customers and the hard work of its staff. We look forward to work working with ShopRite for years to come.”

The event, sponsored by ShopRite, was held at Monroe Cinema, where Neuhaus and Veterans Service Agency Director Christian Farrell hosted two free showings of the movie “12 Strong” for veterans. 12 Strong, which stars Chris Hemsworth, tells the story of the first Special Forces team deployed to Afghanistan immediately after the September 11th terrorist attacks. Orange County Deputy Commissioner of Emergency Services Alan Mack, a decorated U.S. Army veteran, addressed guests before the movie.

Chief Warrant Officer Five Mack enlisted in the Army in 1981 and became a helicopter pilot in 1989. Mack was one of the first pilots to fly into Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001, bringing the same Special Forces unit depicted in 12 Strong to battle the Taliban during the start of the engagement.

In 2017, ShopRite raised $925,000 to benefit local veterans’ organizations, and has raised more than $3.9 million since the campaign’s 2009 inception. The 2017 campaign will benefit local veterans’ organizations including, but not limited to, the Committee for the Families of War Veterans, Hudson Valley Honor Flight and the Orange County Veterans Food Pantry.

“We are proud to present this donation to County Executive Neuhaus to support the Orange County Veterans Food Pantry,” Urtz said. “Giving back to our local communities is extremely important to us and supporting veterans’ organizations in the communities we serve is especially rewarding. County Executive Neuhaus has been an extremely supportive partner and we are thrilled to be able to do the same for him while also helping the men and women who have sacrificed themselves in the defense our freedoms.”

The Orange County Veterans Food Pantry, which is housed at the ShopRite Supermarket in Montgomery, makes weekly deliveries to the homes of veterans. Food Pantry participants receive non-perishable food items, as well as essential household supplies.

This program is open to active duty, surviving family members, National Guard, Reservists, veterans and their spouses. For more information on the Veterans Food Pantry, call the County’s Veterans Service Agency (VSA) at 291-2470, or log onto www.OrangeCountyGov.com/Veterans.