ShopRite employees at the Brodheadsville store were honored for their strong commitment to ending hunger during a special presentation on Tuesday.

During last September’s friendly fundraising competition, co-sponsored by ShopRite and General Mills, the Brodheadsville store brought in $26,558.53 in donations. Overall, the grocery chain amassed $1.4 million, which will be distributed to local food banks. As recognition for their efforts, the Brodheadsville ShopRite team selected store dietitian Rhianna Cenci and top-earning cashier Beth Everett to be featured on a special edition, store exclusive Cheerios box.“If I were you, what I would do is make sure you buy this box, because this box of Cheerios is only sold in ShopRite,” Wakefern/ShopRite representative Orien Reid Nix said. “Buy a box of Cheerios, and have Rhianna and Beth autograph it. Then, you can put that on your mantelpiece and say, ‘Well, I’m not on the box, but I’m close to it, because my best friend is now on the box.’”Standing in front of a wall of Cheerios boxes, and alongside a cake made to resemble a giant Cheerio-shaped bowl filled with cereal, Reid Nix commended Cenci, Everett, and all of the store’s employees on their hard work.“The ShopRite of Brodheadsville has really marched forward in the fight towards raising awareness about hunger in our community, and raising money to fight hunger. It also means that this store is one of the top winners in the 18th annual ShopRite Partners in Caring Cheerios Box competition,” Reid Nix said.Reid Nix said that over 35 million people, including 13 million children, in the United States suffer from hunger every day. Since 1999, the ShopRite Partners in Caring program helped alleviate some of that hunger by donating over $43 million to more that 2,100 charities. Donations collected by cashiers, along with specialty fundraisers like a golf tournament, helped contribute to the cause.Everett said that her motivation came from personal experience. Before she worked at ShopRite, she was in a tight spot herself, and knew the difficulties of keeping food in the house.“It comes from the heart. I was in that boat at one time. I lived in the outskirts of Lehighton, we were both working. We had a car payment, we had lot rent, we had a mortgage. It was either pay those or eat,” she said.While the pageantry of September’s competition is over, Everett continues to promote the mission of Partners in Caring.“Partners in Caring does help,” she said. “Donate, donate, donate, I want to emphasize it over and over and over again. One dollar, two dollars, three dollars, it does help.”Cenci said that access to food for families in need particularly struck a chord with her as a dietitian.“For me, as a dietitian, I feel like I’m always concentrated on the healthy foods. But for some people, it’s not just healthy food, it’s food access in general, just getting any food to them so they can eat.”For their efforts, Everett and Cenci received a special Plexiglas-encased Cheerios box with an engraved nameplate on the front. The store received a commemorative case as well.Vice President Chris Kinsley Sr. handed out checks to Effort United Methodist Pantry, the Salvation Army of East Stroudsburg, Seeds of Faith Ministry, and the Pleasant Valley Ecumenical Network, which they were able to fund through a $3,000 bonus from the fall competition.After the presentation, employees, charitable groups, and other attendees were invited to enjoy some cake, and, of course, pick up a box of Cheerios.