The Board of County Commissioners on July 9 approved an award of contract to Reneko Supermarkets Inc. (ShopRite) for the supply and delivery of grocery goods to the Sussex County Department of Health and Human Services, division of social services, from July 9, 2025, through July 8, 2026, in an amount not to exceed $100,000.

Commissioner DeGroote announced during roll-call discussion that he would abstain from the vote. DeGroote said he was not opposed to feeding residents but that he had not been shown documentation demonstrating changes to procurement or inventory procedures following a prior problem he described as a “debacle.” Other commissioners and the clerk explained that social services purchases food directly and that ShopRite invoices are paid on the county bills list, as with other vendors. The resolution was moved, seconded and adopted; the roll call recorded DeGroote's abstention while other voting members recorded yes votes.

The contract is described in the resolution as a rebid for grocery goods to serve social services clients and is capped at $100,000 for the 12-month term. No changes to procurement policy were adopted at the meeting; DeGroote requested documentation of process changes before he would support future renewals.