HARRISONBURG, Va. (ROCKTOWN NOW) – The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank will host their ‘Shop to Stop Hunger’ event to raise funds and collect food for those in need.
The 60-second, supermarket sweep-style event will take place at Kroger on East Market Street in Harrisonburg on Thursday at 10 a.m. All proceeds will be donated to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank.
As the sponsor, Kroger will cover all event costs and donate the groceries directly to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank.
Shop to Stop Hunger participants will have one minute to fill their carts with as much food as possible. The celebrity contestant who generates the most valuable cart in the spree and obtains the most votes, wins — earning bragging rights and the coveted “Cart Away Hunger” trophy.
Kroger shoppers can “vote” for their favorite contestants by placing food in their corresponding barrels at the store or making donations online.

Contestants for the event will include withSimplicity owner Irina Dovganetskiy; Tinkling Spring Presbyterian Church Youth Leader John Dull; Hershey quality control specialist Renee Sprouse; and Q101’s Riley Reed.

Shop to Stop Hunger began in Charlottesville in 2013 as the brainchild of Jeanne McCusker, a former Food Bank board member. Since then, the event has spread to other communities and has helped provide more than 697,314 meals for people facing food insecurity.

To support area hunger-relief efforts, the local celebrity shoppers are encouraging food donations in their name at the store, or financial donations through this website, before the event.