Badger Technologies and Stop & Shop Introduce ‘Selfies with Marty the Robot’ Promotion at National Retail Federation Show to Fight School Hunger

When show attendees visit Booth 4375 at NRF’24 and take a photo with Marty, 10 meals will be donated to the Stop & Shop School Food Pantry Program

NICHOLASVILLE, KY and QUINCY, MA – January 9, 2024– Badger Technologies, a product division of Jabil and pioneer in retail robotics, is joining forces with grocery retail chain Stop & Shop to increase support for Stop & Shop’s “Feed it Forward” charitable giving initiatives while reinforcing the positive impact Marty the Robot has made on customers and communities. Stop & Shop is an Ahold Delhaize USA company with nearly 400 stores across the Northeast. Marty’s presence in a large majority of Stop & Shop stores strengthens operational efficiencies and helps Stop & Shop serve those in need. 

As part of a shared community commitment, Badger Technologies, Jabil, and Stop & Shop are sponsoring a “Selfies with Marty” program at this year’s NRF ‘24 show, held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City, Jan. 14-16. Everyone in attendance is invited to visit  Badger Technologies/Jabil (Booth 4375) and take a selfie with Marty. Badger Technologies will donate 10 meals for every selfie taken and posted to Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn with #MartyTheRobot during the conference in support of 47 New York City partner schools in the Stop & Shop School Food Pantry Program.

“Nourishing people through food is an integral part of our DNA that drives our dedication to addressing hunger in the communities we serve,” said Karen Mitchell, CMO and SVP of Marketing at Stop & Shop. “We are grateful to work with Badger Technologies and Jabil to support our School Food Pantry Program throughout New York City. By taking and posting selfies with Marty, NRF’24 attendees, exhibitors, and retail industry visionaries can join us in helping local schools fight hunger among students in need.”

Launched in 2019, the Stop & Shop School Food Pantry Program works directly with school partners to support more than 40,000 students and families facing food insecurity issues. According to the  U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA),

more than 13 million children faced hunger in 2022, which translates to one in every five children living in a food-insecure household. To help students perform their best, Stop & Shop identifies schools in need within its communities and provides gift cards plus food and personal care items to stock the shelves of hundreds of school food pantries. Generous donations from vendor partners, including Campbell Snacks, Coca-Cola, General Mills, Unilever, and Procter & Gamble, help make the Stop & Shop School Food Pantry program possible. 

“As champions of local communities throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey, Stop & Shop is continuing to lower the barriers that limit students’ ability to succeed in the classroom,” said William “BJ” Santiago, CEO of Badger Technologies. “We are proud to join our colleagues at Jabil in supporting this important cause and invite everyone at NRF’24 to stop by our booth for a selfie with Marty. Together, we can make a difference in helping provide students with much-needed meals.”

A valued member of the Stop & Shop team since 2019, Marty plays an important role in many of the organization’s community outreach efforts, including making a debut appearance at Fenway Park in September 2023 as part of a special event with the Boston Red Sox to raise awareness for Hunger Action Month. Marty also visits local schools and robotics clubs, attends events to honor military members, and supports Stop & Shop’s efforts to end pediatric and breast cancer.

Marty robots also keep busy at nearly 400 Stop & Shop stores supporting an expanding list of in-store duties. These include scanning shelves to expedite product re-stocking, confirming pricing information, as well as monitoring floor conditions for spills and other hazards. In carrying out daily tasks, Marty robots have traveled more than 1.9 million miles and identified over 9.6 million potential floor hazards. Additionally, the robots scan more than 7 million products daily to improve on-shelf product availability. As a result, Marty enables Stop & Shop store associates to spend more time with customers while improving store safety, operational efficiencies, and customer shopping experiences.

More about Marty

To find out more about Marty’s different roles and responsibilities, attend OmniTalk’s LinkedIn Live: “Why the Human Side of Robotics Matters in Retail” on Wednesday, Jan. 10th at noon ET. 

Selfies with Marty will be available at Booth 4375 on Sunday, Jan. 14 from 10am-5pm ET; Monday, Jan. 15 from 9am-5pm ET; and Tuesday, Jan. 16 from 9am-4pm ET.

In addition to Marty, Badger Technologies and Jabil retail experts will be on hand at the event to showcase the latest innovations powering the retail ecosystem — from warehouse automation and in-store robots to electronic shelf labels, point-of-sale systems, contactless and embedded payment solutions, intelligent vending machines, self-checkout systems, and more.

For more information on Badger Technologies, please visit https://www.badger-technologies.com/. For more information on Stop & Shop’s community involvement, please visit: https://stopandshop.com/pages/feed-it-forward. 

About Badger Technologies

Badger Technologies is a product division of Jabil (NYSE: JBL), a manufacturing solutions provider that delivers comprehensive design, manufacturing, supply chain, and product management services. A robotics pioneer, Badger Technologies has deployed more than 650 robots that automate hazard detection, and resolve a host of inventory and data disconnects to improve on-shelf product availability, price integrity, store profitability, and shopping experiences. As part of Jabil, Badger Technologies has access to leading-edge retail automation technologies, innovative cloud software and services, global supply chain management capabilities, and world-class manufacturing services.

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Media Contact
Michael Kovacs
Senior Director, Marketing, Jabil
1.408.427.1191
michael_kovacs@jabil.com