Fresh & Easy lets patrons shop for schools

By Mark Hansel

Friday, Jan. 23, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets has introduced a program to benefit local schools.

Shop for Schools gives participating public, private and parochial schools an opportunity to receive a $1 cash donation for every $20 spent at a Fresh & Easy store, up to $5,000 per school.

The program is limited to K-8 schools within a three-mile radius of a Fresh & Easy market.

“With school budgets increasingly under pressure, our customers are looking for ways to help raise money,” said Tim Mason, Fresh & Easy chief executive. “We created Shop for Schools to be part of the solution and give back to the neighborhood.”

Fresh & Easy will deliver the check directly to the school, and the money can be used for whatever the school needs most.

Shop for Schools will run from Feb. 1 to March 31 and eligible schools should have already received a registration form.

The program is a typical receipt program in which students and parents collect receipts from Fresh & Easy stores and submit them for verification. Receipts from any Fresh & Easy stores, even those outside of the three-mile radius from the participating school, are eligible.

The school that raises the most money in California, Arizona and Nevada will also receive an additional $5,000 bonus. If two or more schools in a state raise the maximum amount, the school with the highest dollar value of receipts will receive the bonus.

Fresh & Easy, a subsidiary of the British grocery store giant Tesco, launched its neighborhood markets concept in the United States in late 2007 in California, Arizona, and Nevada. It has been rapidly expanding its domestic presence and has more than 100 stores in the United States.

At roughly 10,000 square feet, Fresh & Easy markets are smaller than the typical supermarket and are designed to give customers a faster, easier shopping experience.

More information on Shop for Schools is available at www.freshandeasy.com.