Wegmans staff members, the Food Bank of WNY and Jeff Smith, St. Susan Center executive director, gathered at Wegmans in Jamestown to kick-off the Check Out Hunger Campaign on Saturday. Pictured from left are Danielle Amico, Wegmans service area manager; Ericka Carpenter; Chris Taylor; Heather Helman, Food Bank of WNY resource development coordinator; Jake Yartz; Justin Hodges; Jeff Smith, St. Susan Center executive director; Olivia Harris; and Karen Ralph. P-J photo by Katrina Fuller

Customers can once again help feed the hungry right at the cash register at Wegmans.

The 25th annual Check Out Hunger Campaign is underway at Wegmans of Jamestown, and there is a large need in the area. According to the Food Bank of WNY, the food bank serves 17,678 people in Chautauqua County.

The fundraiser is the largest for the food bank, said Catherine Shick, Food Bank of WNY Public and community relations manager.

“As the Food Bank of WNY works to fight hunger one day at a time, we rely on assistance from the community,” Shick said. “We are so grateful for the support of our local retail partners, their dedicated cashiers and the WNY community as they help us ‘Check Out Hunger.'”

Danielle Amico, Wegmans service manager, said the goal for the campaign is $32,500. The campaign will continue throughout the month, and has gotten off to a good start, Amico said.

“We’ve started really strong,” she said. “We’re so fortunate to be here in Jamestown. A lot of it is about giving back to the community.”

Amico said the goal is to make the campaign store-wide, and several initiatives have been put in place to make it happen. For example, for every $5 a customer donates, the cashier serving them gets to play Plinko. Amico said this idea has helped generate support and excitement surrounding the campaign.

“That’s kind of helped increase participation, too,” she said. “The team has done really well, and they’ve been really excited.”

Customers at the register will have the option to add $2, $3, or $5 to their grocery bill to support the campaign. Proceeds will go directly to the food bank and will help provide nutritious food and support to about 44,000 families in a month. Last year, the proceeds allowed the food bank to provide 4.4 million meals to hungry Western New York families.

Top’s Friendly Markets is also participating in the campaign, but will end theirs  on Feb. 18.

Jeff Smith, St. Susan Center executive director, said the food bank is like a “parent company” to the St. Susan Center and other food pantries in the area. The campaign offers a good time for the organizations to work with the food bank in a different way and raise awareness.

He said hunger is a big issue in the area, making the campaign that much more important.

“In Jamestown alone, last year at the soup kitchen, we served 122,460 meals,” Smith said. “If you look at hunger countywide and nationwide, those numbers just continue to grow. In Chautauqua County, one in seven (people) are food insecure. That’s about 20,000 people.”

He said there is a lot of work to do in the area of feeding the hungry, and encouraged the public to participate in the campaign.

“We’re the richest country in the world,” Smith said.

“Nobody needs to go to bed at night hungry.”