From youth sports to college athletics to professional teams, Wegmans sports partnerships play a key role in community involvement everywhere we have a store. The Buffalo Bills Organization and the Bills Foundation share our priorities of addressing food insecurities and supporting our communities. Our partnership, now entering its third year, has raised millions of dollars and fed countless people in Western New York, something we couldn’t have done alone.

“The partnership with the Buffalo Bills has really allowed us to maximize our reach in the community,” says Michele Mehaffy, Wegmans Divisional Public and Community Relations Manager in Buffalo. “Like Wegmans, the Bills have supported youth sports for many years in Western New York. So naturally, we’ve worked together in the past but now, because of our partnership, we’ve been able to take a deeper dive into some of these initiatives with them.”

Skin Cancer Prevention

This is the second year we have partnered with the Bills to help prevent skin cancer, a cause Bills Head Coach Sean McDermott cares deeply about. Wegmans is donating $1 for every Wegmans Brand sunscreen product purchased at our Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse, New York stores through August 31, 2023 – up to $50,000. The money raised through the skin cancer awareness campaign will go to the Great Lakes Cancer Care Collaborative in Buffalo and 13thirty Cancer Connect in Rochester and Syracuse.

Huddle for Hunger

The Bills Huddle for Hunger initiative is one of the first we participated in after becoming a Bills sponsor. This annual campaign is intended to raise awareness about the growing issue of food insecurity and childhood hunger. The campaign includes a food drive at Highmark stadium as well as a visit to a Buffalo city school. Michelle Roberts, Executive Director, Buffalo Bills Foundation, says that Wegmans’ participation in the school visit enhanced the experience for students in grades K-8, staff, and the Bills players in attendance.

“Wegmans not only donated healthy snacks for the event but sent employee volunteers to assist in the day’s activities,” said Roberts. “We don’t have the capacity to bring in volunteers of our own, so it was crucial to the success of the day to have Wegmans employees there.”

High school students were also able to participate in the campaign through a food donation challenge. The Western New York school that placed first won a visit from Dawson Knox and Dion Dawkins. Second place won a tailgate party with pizza and snacks from Wegmans and were able to attend a Thursday night game.

Fisher Price Buffalo Bills Little People campaign

This football season, we will once again be selling the Fisher Price Buffalo Bills Little People at Western and Central New York Wegmans stores. The first two years of the campaign raised more than $2 million for Oishei Children’s Hospital in Buffalo.

Additional Community Involvement

• Over 20,000 pounds of food collected for the 2022 Allergen-Friendly Food Drive dedicated to collect allergen-friendly food items
• Collaboration with the Bills and Dion Dawkin’s organization, Dion’s Dreamers, to provide and serve a Thanksgiving meal hosted by Buffalo Peacemakers

Roberts says she is looking forward to what we will accomplish together this year. “It is so wonderful to have a partner that is authentically committed to the community, with so many resources that help us enhance the work we do.”