BROCKTON – Three months after the Stop & Shop on North Montello Street said they would not be renewing their lease after 2023, the company had a change of heart.

On April 10, days after The Enterprise broke the news of Stop & Shop location on North Montello remaining open, store manager Christina Marcelino confirmed the decision and announced that the store would be launching two new programs to reduce food waste and fight food insecurity in the city.

"As part of our Flashfood program, we will be providing high-quality fresh produce, meat and dairy for 50% off," she said. "(Stop & Shop) is the first retailer in the state to do this."

The program is designed to help stretch the dollar further and to help reduce food waste in the city.

The store will also be continuing to work with students facing food insecurities through the Stop & Shop School Fund Pantry Program, which supports food pantries at the Brockton Public Schools, as well as the food pantry at Massasoit Community College, which opened in 2019.

"This program is to ensure students have access to healthy, nutritious food so that they can succeed in the classroom," Marcelino said.

At the news conference on April 10, Marcelino thanked the city of Brockton and the mayor for their continued support in collaborating with the grocery store to keep it open. The store's closure would have otherwise left the city without any Stop & Shop stores.

Dramatic reversal: North Montello Stop & Shop to stay open. Here's what we know.

"Stop & Shop is not only a grocery store, but a gas station, pharmacy and bank to the residents of the north side," Mayor Robert Sullivan said. "This (store remaining open) is what we were hoping for."

"The Stop & Shop isn't going anywhere, and our relationship is only enhancing from here," the mayor said. "Stop & Shop is a friend to the city."

State Sen. Michael Brady, a representative for the second Plymouth and Norfolk districts, said it's important for north side residents to have a supermarket close by.

"We are grateful for the store's commitment to the food pantries to support those who struggle with food costs," Brady said.

A spokesperson for Stop & Shop said the North Montello location is the only grocery store in the area that also serves as a bank, pharmacy and gas station.

The reversal was the result of "city-facilitated conversations between the tenants and the landlord in which they were able to work out an arrangement that was mutually beneficial," a spokesperson for the city said.

While the company could not comment on the details surrounding the real estate transaction and its new deal with the landlord of the building Stop & Shop is in, a spokesperson said, "We are very glad that the store will remain open and that we'll continue to serve the Brockton community."

Staff writer Namu Sampath can be reached at nsampath@enterprisenews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Brockton North Montello Stop & Shop: Staying open, new food programs