Now Stop & Shop customers in four Massachusetts locations can access the world’s largest food sustainability ratings system right on supermarket shelves.
The HowGood food ratings can now be found in four Stop & Shop grocery store locations near Boston including Braintree, Hingham, Pembroke, and New Bedford starting this September. Our extensive sustainability research helps shoppers easily identify food products that meet rigorous environmental and social benchmarks with our simple “Good,” “Great,” and “Best” ratings, right there on store shelves. These ratings highlight the most sustainable, wholesome, and honest foods, in turn supporting a better food system.
Stop & Shop has been around for more than 100 years. They started small, back in 1914 when the Rabinowitz family opened a modest grocery store in Somerville, MA. Four years later, they came up with the modern self-service supermarket and by 1947, the company had grown into a flourishing chain of 86 supermarkets. Today there are over 400 stores throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey- a real-life American dream come true!
And the dream’s still going strong. As Stop & Shop continues to grow, it’s always looking for new ways to better its communities and practices. From fighting hunger by donating millions of pounds of food to regional food banks every year, to raising money to combat childhood cancer, and diverting 88% of all its food waste from landfills through composting, recycling, and donations, Stop & Shop has proven its commitment to a healthier world. And now, by partnering with HowGod, they’re bringing transparency to the customer experience.
Over the past 10 years, HowGood has developed the world’s largest database of sustainable food ratings to support our in-store rating system and free mobile app. We are currently the only company to rigorously research the goodness of food products based on multiple metrics, and then highlight those ratings for consumers directly at the point of purchase.
Our research team has rated over 250,000 food products to date, examining each item across three main benchmarks– Growing Guidelines, Processing Practices, and Company Conduct– to reward those products that are environmentally friendly, less processed, and socially responsible.
“For over 100 years, Stop & Shop has remained committed to helping shoppers make quality food choices,” said Alexander Gillett, CEO of HowGood. “We are thrilled to join forces with a company that shares our values: supporting a better food system and helping consumers make sustainable choices. With the launch of HowGood in Stop & Shop stores, the company builds on its commitment to perpetual advancement, but now also improves the wellness of customers while rewarding producers who strive to build a sustainable food system.”
By teaming up with HowGood, Stop & Shop makes it easy for customers to make educated choices about the food they purchase, empowering them to buy foods they feel good about for themselves, their families and the world. As part of the program, Stop & Shop stores will create awareness around our ratings system with events, increased signage, shelf tags and a trained staff member to answer shoppers’ questions. Through these tools, customers can better understand the significance of our “Good,” “Great,” and “Best” ratings.
“Our customers want to make better choices for themselves, their families and the planet, but it can be overwhelming navigating buzzwords and marketing claims that are made on food packaging,” said Stacy Wiggins, SVP of operations for Stop & Shop. “Launching the HowGood pilot program provides easy tools for customers to find products with quality ratings as well as highlight our most sustainable items so that our customers can feel good about making positive product choices.”
The four specific Massachusetts Stop & Shop stores we are trialing in are:
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STORE #0035: 400 Lincoln St., Hingham, MA 02043
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STORE #0478: 316 Grove St., Braintree, MA 02184
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STORE #0014: North River Plaza, Rte. 139, Pembroke, MA 02359
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STORE #0098: 438 Dartmouth St., New Bedford, MA 02742
HowGood is thrilled for the opportunity to educate more shoppers than ever before about the food they purchase and its impact on the world.
