FAQs

The Big Y Community Bag Program makes it easy for shoppers to support their communities and environment by buying durable, reusable shopping bags. Donations from this program support groups focused on education, civic, health & wellness, hunger relief and military/veterans organizations.

Each bag costs $2.50, with $1 of that purchase going to support a benefiting nonprofit in your community.

The bags are made from 95% recycled materials from either nonwoven or woven Polypropylene. They are manufactured in China and Vietnam in factories that follow the strictest guidelines for employment and production standards.

We work with local food pantries and food banks to provide nourishing meals to those in need. According to Feeding America, every $1 donation allows partners to secure and distribute 10 meals to those in need. To learn more, read this article by Feeding America: https://www.feedingamerica.org/ways-to-give/faq/about-our-claims

No. If you have been selected as the monthly beneficiary at a particular store location, the $1 donation will automatically go to you upon purchase. There is no need to use the Giving Tag attached to the bag to send the $1 donation to your organization. The Giving Tag is only to redirect the $1 donation to a different nonprofit, other than the one selected to benefit for the month.

Every month, leadership at each store location chooses a local nonprofit to be the default beneficiary from the Community Bag Program. This organization’s name is posted on the reusable bag rack during their benefiting month.

Yes. Big Y is committed to serving the communities in which we live and work, so if your nonprofit is 501(c)(3) certified, then visit our Submit Your Organization page to sign up to participate, or visit our website to learn more about our other community programs.

We estimate that one purchased reusable bag will be used at least six times per year. We also estimate that each time a reusable bag is used it equates to five single-use bags that are not used. This means that for every reusable bag that is sold, 30 single-use bags are not used. We are confident in this assessment, as it is a very conservative estimate compared to other findings.

Community Bags are available at all Big Y locations. Look for them at registers and on the reusable bag rack. If you can’t find them, just ask a staff member where they are. They’ll be happy to show you!

To find the Big Y nearest to you, visit our site. You can also purchase these bags in bulk — they make great gifts for friends, family, colleagues and group members. Show them you care about them, the community and the environment! For information on bulk orders, please contact us at bigy@bags4mycause.com.

About one week after your selection month(s) ends, we will send you an email with the total amount raised during your selection month(s) and the date a donation check will be sent to you through the U.S. Postal Service.