The response from the community has been overwhelming, according to the co-op. Smith is dedicated to turning his ambitious vision into reality. Further, when Just Local Food Cooperative in Eau Claire, Wis., lost its entire administrative staff just before the pandemic, Menomonie Market staff stepped up to help by providing interim general management and administrative services. Those plans were jeopardized when a deadly derecho ripped through the area, demolishing much of the equipment for the store the same month the COVID-19 pandemic began. Despite their best efforts, most grocers aren’t connecting to their customers via social media, according to Progressive Grocer. HowGood Raises $6M for Product Sustainability Database Progressive Grocer 15:52 23-Feb-21 Cow & Gate introduces formula range made with a2 protein milk FoodBev Media 12:55 23-Feb-21 Danone acquires Earth Island in a vegan push domain-b.com 12:24 23-Feb-21 The result was BriarPatch’s highest-ever sales year on record. Not only was Turnip Truck able to weather the storm, its three stores thrived in difficult conditions by protecting employees and shoppers and giving back to the community. The enterprise is far more than a grocery store for vegans, however. We can’t wait to open up our doors again.”. The Grocer Gold Awards celebrate the value of the industry's achievements new and old, and the extraordinary role it has played in response to the pandemic ... You can unsubscribe at any time. Of course, the coronavirus wasn’t the only issue that independents had to deal with this past year. took the outreach one step further for another local business, Jack Stack Barbecue, a fourth-generation family-owned barbecue restaurant with five locations in Kansas City. See if you qualify for a free subscription to our industry leading paper magazine. The Supermarket of the Year 2020 has been announced – and it’s not Aldi. This dedication to helping others comes straight from the top: owners Mike and Wendy Thompson, who truly value their shoppers and their community, and take such great pride in their store. By March, normal donation requests had slowed to a trickle, despite the fact that many nonprofits were struggling to meet an increased need compounded by lack of funding and volunteers in lockdown. Furthermore, the good relationships that Cedar Market formed with many vendors helped ease some of the challenges of procuring difficult-to-obtain products. As the voice of the retail food industry since 1922, Progressive Grocer's core audience targets top management at headquarters and key decision makers at store-level. The local school system hadn’t developed a school lunch program for students quarantined at home, so Thompson’s stepped up to the plate, offering all school age children free lunch, no questions asked, and the retailer continues to do so, ensuring that no one in their community goes hungry. Subsequently, the demand for deliveries exploded. Convenience Store News is the convenience store industry's leading media brand for news, trends, analysis and proprietary research. GFGC allows customers to nominate beneficiary organizations and have a say in how funds are dispersed. The retailer’s small team knew it would have been impossible to put its inventory online, since it couldn’t count on the stability of a supply chain. What PG’s 21 honorees, whose store counts range from one to 42, share in common, along with a steely determination to succeed despite the odds, is a vast capacity for joy. Having adapted successfully to extraordinary times, Dorothy Lane vows that even after “this strange era that we’re living [in] continues to move into its next, hopefully happier chapter, we will continue to evolve. Consumers’ increasing demand for wild seafood, smaller pack sizes and value-added items have fueled growth in fresh seafood departments, according to the Progressive Grocer report. Selfie photos of Santa and the kids were taken from outside the cars, with everyone masked for safety, offering a way to preserve the memory of an unconventional, As the pandemic wore on, Pomegranate identified the need to expand its services even further. And with unique… The retailer’s leadership team immediately set to work installing plexiglass shields at checkstands, instituted daily temperature and wellness checks, and established aggressive practices to remove staffers who may have been exposed, offering supplemental paid sick leave in addition to paid time off. While modestly protesting that its actions in 2020 were “perhaps no more heroic than [those] of our fellow independents,” Dorothy Lane Market nevertheless finds that “ it’s quite impossible to highlight a single accomplishment.” What the retailer did manage to include among its achievements is impressive enough, however. Understanding the plight of a small, locally owned business and feeling a kinship with a family similarly steeped in the tradition of serving the community, Ball arranged for Jack Stack Barbecue to be in Balls’ deli sections, advertising the product and running an appeal to support local restaurants in his stores’ weekly circulars. Dive Brief: An in-store robot began roaming the aisles of three St. Louis, MO, Schnucks Markets as of July 31, helping the grocery stores collect shelf data for further analysis, Progressive Grocer reports. Leading Canadian grocer H.Y. to these heroes. Bi-Rite aims to accomplish all of this while continuing to offer nourishing, healthy food and maintaining a safe yet joyful place. Posted: 18 Feb 2021 12:26 PM PST. The result was BriarPatch’s highest-ever sales year on record. “In my wildest dreams, I could not have foreseen any of this happening,” noted Liza Terry, who usually works at the nearby Blue Moose Restaurant. The haul from the November food drive took six semi-trailers to deliver everything to the Utah food bank. The only event that shares smarter strategies for building a frontline workforce that’s ready for anything. “As the season wore on and we could finally lift our heads up, we saw the needs popping up in our community,” notes Wright. All of these activities have given rise to the retailer’s key operational takeaway from the pandemic. A 25-person limit was instituted immediately, with a door monitor enforcing mandatory hand sanitizing at the front door, proper face coverings for entry and supplying latex gloves for use. In collaboration with Fairtrade America, which sponsored the project, the retailer designed and installed a mural promoting gender equity and Fair Trade products. Tesco has been crowned the winner of the award which is … Adding to the stress of the pandemic, the co-op’s Sierra Foothills community simultaneously faced unprecedented California wildfires and power outages. As Emily Ann Timmons, The Co-op Ozark Natural Foods brand manager, notes, “We cannot wait to see what a post-pandemic world has to offer our co-op and what we can, in return, offer to our community.”. Undeterred, founder/owner John Dyke and his team sourced available equipment and built the West Nashville store, ensuring a local food source for a new part of town. Only as its delivery schedule and product stock normalized was the retailer finally able to roll out in-store ads. HOW TO MAKE JAMAICAN BEEF PATTIES | Meat Pie | Street Food | Jamaican Beef Patty Recipe | Hawt Chef - Duration: 25:14. ’s first-ever Outstanding Independent Visionary designation goes to Vegan Fine Brands, a single-store Black-owned and -operated business founded in 2016. Tally, a robot by Simbe Robotics, will scan the stores in the morning, midday and evening, looking for out-of-stock items, those in low stock, and pricing errors. Also, recognizing the financial hardships that local restaurants were enduring, the retailer reached out to have daily meals catered for its staff, essential workers who were now working harder, longer hours than ever. Additionally, in another Outstanding Independent award departure, PG has bestowed its first-ever Visionary designation on Vegan Fine Brands, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based concept that may consist of just one location now, but whose founder/CEO, Steven Smith, is determined to take to underserved areas across the country. On top of it all, Dorothy Lane’s vendors, with which it has cultivated strong relationships over the years, were there for the retailer when it needed them most, such as a valued local partner who kept on delivering his family’s farm-fresh organic eggs. Other charitable endeavors include Kowalski’s4Kids, which benefits at-risk youth, and its Groceries for Good Causes (GFGC) has donated $2 million-plus to schools, churches  and food shelves immediately surrounding each of its stores. When the coronavirus pandemic began, Bi-Rite maintained its focus on protecting the health, safety and long-term vibrancy of its staff and community, even as the company’s B2B catering business evaporated overnight, its Cafe and Creamery temporarily closed, and it started metering the number of customers at its markets, resulting in a significant decrease in revenue. In the area of community outreach, Turnip Truck supported Nashvillians facing homelessness, joblessness and food scarcity because of the storms and the pandemic by donating food to worthy causes, including Martha O’Bryan Center’s Second Harvest Food Bank in East Nashville and The Nashville Food Project. “Our team has been working day and night to rebuild, repair and replenish,” said Burns during the rebuilding phase. The border adjustment tax is a major component of the tax plan put … When COVID struck back in March 2020, third-generation grocer Thompson’s County Market sprang into action. Oliver’s relied on its local vendor relations to keep products in stock, particularly meat and produce. By March, normal donation requests had slowed to a trickle, despite the fact that many nonprofits were struggling to meet an increased need compounded by lack of funding and volunteers in lockdown. Supermarket News delivers competitive business intelligence, news and information for executives in the food retail and grocery industry. With the support of the entire Balls organization, Sun Fresh Market Store Director Kathy Scott found jobs for the workers at one store. 3. As a result, those who felt powerless and isolated shared how the stories helped them reconnect with one another. In fact, the business is one of the few grocers who has paid hazard pay throughout the entire pandemic. FDA, USDA Assure Food Is Safe From COVID Transmission - Progressive Grocer. That statistic is one of the reasons that wants to bring the Vegan Fine Brands model to cities across the country. in fact, Little House had to stop accepting new subscriptions because it ran out of room in its refrigerator to store them. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last March, its Chapter 11 plan was confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York this past November, and the plan went into effect on Jan. 28.. To further help local businesses, BriarPatch teamed with an area brewery on Unity in the Community IPA, sold exclusively at the co-op, and both businesses each donated $1 toward a local small-business relief fund, creating another opportunity for shoppers to participate in rebuilding the town through patronage, this time while enjoying a brew. Buoyed by its accomplishments in 2020 and the rock-solid support of customers, vendors and local residents, Pomegranate promises even more improvements in store, as regards both its business and its community outreach efforts. And with unique… Asda to consult over 5,000 jobs as it switches focus to online The Grocer 12:39 25-Feb-21. This past holiday season, Pomegranate’s donation surpassed the original goal it set of beating its 2019 donation of 680 pounds of food. As a result, those who felt powerless and isolated shared how the stories helped them reconnect with one another. See if you qualify for a free subscription to our industry leading paper magazine. As Director of Marketing Kindl Furtak notes, “We’re proud of the work our associates do in our communities, and a very bright spot in this challenging year was how we were all able to come together to support each other.