Ocean State Job Lot (OSJL), a privately-held, family-operated discount retail chain with 129 stores in New England, New York, and New Jersey, has teamed up with West Warwick based community pantry, Project Hand Up, to provide weekly deliveries of non-perishable food. This initiative is part of an ongoing commitment to food banks and pantries throughout the region.

Project Hand Up, located at 10 Brookside Avenue in West Warwick, provides working people with the opportunity to shop for groceries, toiletries, and over the counter medication for a suggested donation that helps to stretch their paycheck so they do not have to choose between eating or paying bills.

“Helping people is what I live for and Ocean State Job Lot’s commitment will allow us to help even more people,” said Coreen St. Jean, Founder and President of Be The Change & Project Hand Up in a release. “Ocean State Job Lot’s weekly donations of non-perishable foods will help us to continue to ensure that Rhode Islanders have the food they need. Last week alone, Job Lot delivered 12 pallets of food to our organization and has pledged to continue to keep our shelves stocked on a weekly basis.”

“Through the Ocean State Job Lot Charitable Foundation, we are able to put our ample purchasing resources behind wonderful community organizations that help our fellow neighbors in need,” said David Sarlitto, Executive Director, Ocean State Job Lot Charitable Foundation. “Hunger is something that affects far too many families, and as a company we have made a commitment to community pantries and food banks throughout the region to do our part to address this staggering problem.”

Since Ocean State Job Lot was founded 40 years ago, philanthropy has been a critical component of the company’s mission. In addition to military and veteran assistance, Job Lot supports food banks and pantries across the Northeast, as well as the Boston Medical Center, Rhode Island Free Clinic, Amos House, The Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence, and more than 50 grassroots nonprofit organizations focused on hunger relief, education, health care, water purification and children’s literacy.

The company has made its mark in the discount-retail segment through opportunistic buying which allows them to pass along huge savings to consumers. OSJL offers an ever-evolving selection of first-quality, close-out merchandise at unbelievable prices. It recently celebrated four decades in business by expanding its Rhode Island-based distribution center to 1.5 million square feet and adding hundreds of new jobs to the company’s roster of more than 5,000 employees.