Soup To Nutz

Once again the weather cooperated as another successful AMR/MAFTO event was held November 5-7 at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City! This year, Jeff Brown of Brown’s Super Stores, Inc. was honored as the Person of the Year. Jeff, his wife Sandy and three of their four sons danced, ate and enjoyed the good weather with many industry notables. On hand to help the Browns celebrate were local ShopRite owners including Bernie Kenny, Kenny Family Markets of Delaware; Rich McMenamin, McMenamin Family Markets; Larry Collins, Collins Family Markets; and Karl Eichkoff, Eickhoff Family Markets. Jeff Reagan from also came in for the festivities.

Mark Tarzwell, Burris Logistics, did a superb job as emcee for the evening and guests danced to the music of the Fabulous Greaseband…and they were just fabulous! Even newcomer Jesse Amoroso and his date Maya Kahlil boogied to the tunes from the 50s, 60s and 70s.  Dinner chairman Mike Marano, AMG Force One Merchandising, and AMR/MAFTO president Jim Mullen, Acme Markets, presented Jeff with a plaque during the ceremonies noting the work that Jeff does for the Delaware Valley food industry. During the Friday night dance party a very surprised industry veteran Ron Stubin of Philadelphia Brokerage was presented with the Founding Fathers Award. As many of you know, AMR/MAFTO raises money to give it away. The main donations are in the form of scholarships to worthy college students. This year nine scholarships of $2,500 each were given out. Recipients were: Jessica Rodgers, Temple University; Kelly Tarzwell, Immaculata University; Jessica Mullen, St. Joseph’s University; Kristen Shuck, Salisbury University; Courtney Masterson, LaSalle University; David O’Brien, St. Charles Borromeo Seminary; Cathryn Welsh, St. Joseph’s University; Shane Barton, Penn State University; and Shante Laws, who will attend nursing school and was the recipient of the Jack Goldberg Memorial Scholarship. For anyone who is interested in applying for one of AMR/MAFTO’s scholarships, information is available at www.amrmafto.org . The weekend wound down with a scrumptious but subdued breakfast buffet, a true sign that a good time was had by all!

Mark your calendars for the AMR/MAFTO Holiday Party and Monte Carlo night benefiting Christmas for All Kids Friday, December 3. This is a fun event and it’s a great way to kick off the holidays. Don’t forget to bring an unwrapped toy to help make a child’s holiday dream come true.

Carol Cherington of Food World and I attended the Natural Expo East in Boston last month. The show garnered a strong attendance with nearly 20,000 industry members and more than 1,300 exhibits representing 96 countries. Manufacturers and distributors of organic and natural foods, bath and body products, organic home cleaning products and organic clothing were on hand.  The industry is booming with more and more consumers looking for healthful products. The keynote speaker was actor Alicia Silverstone and the featured speaker was Gary Hirshberg of Stonyfield Farms. Erica Stone, show manager, noted, “Expo East is about buyers and brands doing business on the show floor. Our charge, each year, is to create an accelerated opportunity for entrepreneurs as well as our legacy brands launching new product lines, to meet with retail buyers and press in one place.” The Natural Expo East will return to Baltimore in September 2011. For more information about the show please visit: www.ExpoEast.com .

Foodtown Supermarkets announced that their stores have raised more than $48,000 in support for the men and women in uniform returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan. All proceeds of the donation drive went to The G.I. Go Fund, a non-profit organization that assists veterans with their employment, benefits, and educational needs as they transition back to civilian life. During the months of August and September, patrons of Foodtown had the opportunity to donate one dollar or more at checkout lines to benefit the soldiers that The G.I. Go Fund aims to serve. In addition, donation cards were displayed with the names of customers and loved ones throughout individual Foodtown storefronts to show further support of our troops.  

Over the two month period, the Foodtown Supermarkets that raised the most money were located in North Haledon, Cedar Grove, and Neptune City New Jersey, respectively. When speaking with Foodtown CEO Bill Donahoe he stated, “We look for causes that we feel are worthwhile,” he added “We really wanted to get out there and ask the customers to remember who’s allowing them to be free.”  Representatives of the G.I. Go Fund attended the Foodtown Supermarkets in Manalapan and Neptune City, New Jersey to present prizes to Alice McCobb and Helen Brennen, the two cashiers who raised the most money among all Foodtown employees. The two were presented with a 50” flat-screen television for first place and a Dell computer for second place. McCobb, the top earner, raised almost $1,300 during the drive. She stated that her dedication to this cause motivated her to raise as much money as she did. “I just felt more passionate for this than any other donation drive we do,” said McCobb. “Veterans sacrifice their life for us, and unfortunately some of them didn’t make it. So I just wanted to help any way I could.” Well said.

At the end of October Weis Markets said its month-long Fight Hunger food drive totaled $356,000 in food bank donations, which will generate 285,000 meals for people in need throughout its marketing area. The Fight Hunger total includes $156,000 in customer product and monetary donations and $200,000 in corporate donations, which are being made to ten regional food banks. “We are grateful to our customers and associates for their generosity.  Their donations will help hundreds of emergency food providers meet increased demand during difficult times,” said Dave Hepfinger, Weis Markets’ president and CEO.  “We have complemented our customer’s generosity with our own contribution of $200,000.”  The Fight Hunger food drive ran during Hunger Action Month in September.  In addition to product donations, customer monetary donations will be distributed to 148 local emergency food providers serving communities near the company’s stores.

Weis Markets’ $200,000 corporate donation will benefit: Second Harvest Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley and Northeast, PA; The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank (Harrisburg); The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank (Williamsport); The Maryland Food Bank; The Commission on Economic Opportunity/The Weinberg Northeast Regional Food Bank (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton); Greater Berks Food Bank (Reading); Food Bank of the Southern Tier (Elmira); Northwest Community Action Program NORWESCAP Food Bank (Phillipsburg, NJ); Mountaineer Food Bank (West Virginia) and Broome County Council of Churches/CHOW (Binghamton).

Howard Stoeckle, CEO of Wawa, has accepted the Living and Giving Award for the Eastern Pennsylvania chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). He will be feted May 21, 2011 at the Lowes Philadelphia.  Wawa has always supported JDRF each October by collecting “sneaker” donations at all the Wawa stores before the annual Walk for the Cure. Wawa has been a generous supporter of JDRF walks and galas in the Mid-Atlantic region for many years. “Wawa is one of our top corporate partners and we are delighted to honor Howard and Wawa for all of the support they have given us,” said Ellen Rubesin, JDRF executive director, Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter. JDRF was founded here in Philadelphia by my next door neighbor Lee Ducat back in 1970.  Since then, JDRF has expanded to an international foundation with its main focus being finding a cure for Type 1 diabetes through research. To date JDRF has raised $1.4 billion of which 85 percent has gone toward research. A tip of the hat to you, Howard for lending your support to finding a cure for this horrible disease that plagues the lives of our children every day. For more information on this event please visit: www.jdrfeasternpa.com.

On October 28, 2010 the FDA gathered a group of inspectors from around the country and brought them to Kreider Farms in Manheim, PA for a training session.  These new FDA inspectors were being trained to inspect egg production facilities for food safety in the wake of the recent salmonella outbreak and subsequent egg recall.  Kreider Farms and its staff were asked to help train the FDA inspectors. “This was a huge honor for our company. It speaks well of the Kreider employees, facilities and reputation in the egg industry, said Dave Andrews, VP of sales and marketing. Kreider Farms was asked to keep this training session quiet until after the FDA inspectors left to avoid media attention during their visit. 

C&S Wholesale Grocers and its family of companies announced recent cash donations

and programs to fight hunger in America. “On behalf of our employees, I’m proud that C&S is a mission partner to Feeding America and that we contribute to a well-respected group of hunger relief organizations doing so much for struggling families,” said Rick Cohen, chairman and CEO. “The national Hunger Action Month campaign encouraged us to learn more about the issue and to take steps to address it.” For the eighth consecutive year, C&S employees responded enthusiastically to an annual Food for Kids drive. Employees donated more than 16,000 pounds of nonperishable food for local food banks. For every pound, C&S made a $1 contribution to Feeding America’s BackPack Program, which provides nutritious food to kids in need to tide them over during weekends or school vacations. C&S also announced investments in the work of the Feeding America member food banks in or near the communities where they have a presence. On November 2, the company donated 5,300 turkeys to 24 statewide or regional food banks in the Feeding America network. The turkeys will be given to families without means so they can enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving meal. In addition, C&S was pleased to be the presenting sponsor of Share Our Strength’s Conference of Leaders held recently in Washington, D.C. The Conference convened a dynamic group of 400 chefs, grant recipients, donors and thought leaders from a variety of fields and volunteers. Over the course of two days, attendees were informed, inspired and introduced to the No Kid Hungry campaign that aims to end childhood hunger in the United States by 2015.

Brown’s Super Stores, Inc has signed the lease at the former Tastykake property in the Hunting Park neighborhood of Philadelphia. Ground breaking is scheduled for this month. The opening of this store will mark the eleventh store in the Brown Super Stores group. Brown’s also recently broke ground on an $11 million expansion for their Cheltenham Avenue store.

We send out condolences to the Bottino ShopRite family on the death of their mother, Isabel. Known to many as “Mrs. B”, her recipes were featured in ‘Mrs. B’s Homemade Secrets” at all Bottino ShopRites.  Our sympathies also go out to Steve Hungerbuhler of Foodtown on the recent passing of his mother Idda Hungerbuhler. Lastly, we learned of the death of food industry veteran Harry J. Kearney Jr. on November 4. After serving our country in the U.S. Navy Harry devoted his entire career to the food industry. We will miss his smiling eyes and his laughter. Harry’s obituary appears on page 4 of this issue.

Congratulations to Food Trade News’ Nina Weiland on the birth of her grandson Gianluca Mattucci, born on October 11.  Baby Gianluca weighed in at eight pounds, nine ounces, and stretched 20 inches long.  Nina tells me everyone is healthy and happy.

Birthday shout outs for this thankful month of November go to: Bernie Ellis, AWI;

Curt Gruber, Acosta Sales & Marketing; Mike Marano, Force One Merchandising/AMG; Donna Tarzwell, wife of Mark Tarzwell, Burris Logistics; Anthony Maglio Jr., Maglio Sausage Co.; Paul Bell, Bell Sales & Marketing; Don Ciotti, Bottom Dollar; Ron Fish, Reading Consumer Products; Jim Mullen, Acme Markets; Ken Wollman, Master Foods, and his wife Carolyn, who celebrate the same birthday; Pat McCarthy, McCarthy Lecture series, SJU and retired Ocean Spray; Mike Mackin, Schmidt Baking Company; William Speakman, CFO of Best-Met Publishing; and me…holding on to 39 with both hands. Buon compleanno a tutti!

Celebrating wedded bliss this month: Charlie and Pat Mallowe, retired SJU; Roger and Phyllis Herding, Safeway/Genuardi’s; Linda and Chuck Naddeo, HP Hood; Jay and Kelly Orfetel, Bimbo Bakeries USA; Bill and Laverne Todd, Seltzer’s Smoked Meats. Happy Anniversary!

Correction: Last month I mistakenly wrote Charlie Schuster’s wife’s name as Jane. Her name is Mary and I wish you many more happy years with your “Tarzan.”

I say this every year because it bears repeating, lest we forget: as we gather with family and friends for this most American of holidays please take a minute to remember our troops at home and overseas who continue to sacrifice every day for our way of life. Even in these tumultuous times, we have much for which we should be thankful.  Happy Thanksgiving!

 Quote of the month:  Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all. ~Stanley Horowitz