Once again, the Saint Joseph’s University Food Industry Summit did not disappoint. George Latella, visiting professor of food marketing, went out on a limb and put together a foodservice based program titled “Eat with Us…Leveraging Digital Technology for Profitable Meals.” This was the first time SJU presented an all foodservice program but to tell you the truth, there were more similarities to retail than I had expected. While all the speakers were excellent and pretty much spoke to the topic, I wanted to regale you with the highlights from White Castle’s vice president of marketing and menu development Kim Bartley’s talk because, honestly, who hasn’t had at least ONE slider from White Castle at 2:00 a.m. after a night of revelry? The first fact the everyone, especially those from the Garden State, needs to know is that White Castle did not begin in New Jersey.WhiteCastle was born inWichita,KS back in 1931. From that location came 410 more patented steel structures and many firsts in the Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) world. So, here are some of White Castle’s firsts: first quick service hamburger chain; invented the hamburger spatula; first curb side service; first fully integrated plant with both bakery and meat production; first (1987) with a frozen restaurant brand in the frozen food section; first to develop a two-pack convenience store product; first QSR to have a website; and the first QSR to be in a movie title (“Harold and Kumar go to White Castle”). All of these firsts, and the company is fourth generation family-owned and operated. Imagine that? She also spoke about social media being a major force forWhiteCastle and about “cravers,” the group of loyalWhiteCastle customers who have come together as a cult “craver community” to hold the events like the Slider Bowl, complete with regional tournaments. I am looking forward to hearing what George has planned for the 2013 summit. This event gets better every year!
Wakefern Food Corp. has been named one of NJBIZ magazine’s 2012 Best Places to Work in New Jersey for the second year in a row. Created in 2005, the award is given annually and recognizes and honors top places of employment in New Jersey that benefit the state’s economy, workforce and businesses. Winners were determined by an evaluation of each nominated company’s workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems and demographics. An additional component of the evaluation included an employee survey to measure the employee experience. “We consistently strive to create an environment that our associates can be proud of and that allows them to excel,” said Joe Sheridan, president and COO of Wakefern Food Corp. “We are delighted that Wakefern has been recognized by NJBIZ as a ‘best place to work’ and we are so honored to be included in this esteemed group of New Jersey businesses.”
As part of its ongoing commitment to offering customers simple solutions to enhance their shopping experience, Giant/Carlisle recently announced the launch of its first mobile application for iPhone and Android devices. Customers can now download the mobile application for free at the App Store or Android Market.
“More customers are relying on the convenience that technology can offer and we are committed to bringing that innovation to our customers and to our stores,” said Rick Herring, president of Giant/Carlisle. “The launch of a mobile app is a natural extension to the suite of technologies we currently offer in store. We also look forward to enhancing the capabilities of the Giant app in the coming months to better serve our
customers’ needs.”
The mobile app syncs with a customer’s BonusCard, to provide access to his or her online account, allowing them to check current point totals for Gas Extra Rewards and A+ School Rewards in addition to viewing personalized savings offers. Once customers have built their shopping list online at www.giantfoodstores.com, they will be able to view and check off the list using their mobile device while shopping. Customers can also access store circulars to check out every day savings on the go.
In other Ahold USA news, in early March Stop & Shop Supermarket announced 2011 as a benchmark year in the retailer’s commitment to alleviating hunger, supporting health and wellness initiatives with emphasis on healthy kids, as well as developing partnerships to support local communities. In total, the Stop & Shop New England and New York Metro divisions and were able to give back more than $22 million in 2011 into the hundreds of communities in which they operate.
“Stop & Shop is thankful to have customers, associates, and partners who care about making a difference in the communities we serve,” said Mark McGowan, president of theEngland division. “The need is great everywhere – from providing meals to those who are going hungry or ensuring our kids grow to be healthy, productive adults. With the power of all of us coming together, we were able to make a real impact and truly help change lives last year. Stop & Shop cannot thank everyone enough for their unending generosity.”
Over the course of 2011, Stop & Shop donated more than $10 million toward hunger relief which translated to hundreds of thousands of pounds of food, the equivalent of more than 80 million meals according to Feeding America. Sixty percent of the money raised was donated to a local hunger relief agency or food pantry each store adopts; forty percent was donated to regional food banks.
In addition, Stop & Shop’s Turkey Express program delivered 20,000 turkeys to 15 local organizations to help provide thousands of holiday meals. “Stop & Shop believes in a philosophy of giving back locally. We know we can make the greatest impact on our communities by supporting causes that are important to our customers right in their own neighborhoods. Stop & Shop remains committed to helping alleviate hunger, support health and wellness and create new partnerships to support and strengthen the communities we serve,” said Don Sussman,New York metro division president. In addition to hunger relief, Stop & Shop donated approximately $12 million to community organizations throughout the Northeast to support health and wellness programs, education, and to help individuals and families in the communities it serves.
In support of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative, Goya Foods, the largest Hispanic-owned U.S. food company, is committing resources to promote the USDA’s MyPlate, or MiPlato, a new food group symbol to remind families about making healthy meal choices with easy “how-tos” about proper portions. Mrs. Obama joined Bob Unanue, president of Goya Foods, and leading Latino organizations to promote their nationwide effort to encourage health and wellness in communities across the country. Goya Foods is rolling out numerous steps to help communities enjoy healthy, tasty and affordable meals including creating brochures, posters, coupons and cookbooks for consumers; developing educational tools for fourth through sixth grade students across the country; and imprinting the MiPlato icon on some of their products.
“Today’s announcement is what Let’s Move! is really all about – folks from every sector of our society stepping up and coming together on behalf of our kids. One of the pillars of Let’s Move! is empowering parents with the information they need to make healthy choices. MiPlato is a tool to help support families in that effort. Today, Goya is utilizing their incredible reach into communities across the country to get this helpful information to the hand of parents,” said Mrs. Obama. “Everything that Goya is doing – from the MiPlato posters and pamphlets to cookbooks and recipes – center around the idea that we parents can make simple changes to help their children lead healthier lives.”
“For Goya, MiPlato is an ideal reflection of our product line; quality, flavor, healthy and nutritious; while offering guidance to the public to easily identify the basic food groups of vegetables, grains, fruits, proteins, and dairy,” said Unanue.
Community organizations from Floridato Californiahave shown their support of Let’s Move! with commitments to promote MiPlato and distribute the Goya-produced materials through local churches, food pantries, promotores (community health workers) networks, registered dietitians, and schools. Goya Foods will collaborate with Let’s Move! and USDA in many ways including a Goya-produced brochure featuring a series of recipes that meet the Dietary Guidelines that support MiPlato and 10 tips for healthy eating. Last month, Goya and City Harvest distributed fresh produce and Goya products, six Latin recipes for healthy meals and Mrs. Obama’s 10 tips on how to lead a healthy lifestyle atBronxSpanishEvangelicalChurch.
The Philadelphia Flower Show, known for its extravagantly beautiful displays of exotic and unusual floral species hosted the unveiling of the new Purple Wonder Strawberry. This strawberry was bred by horticulturists atCornellUniversitybut Burpee Seed Company will have exclusive rights to market the plant to home gardeners. According to those in the know, the Purple Wonder’s medium-sized berries are more flavorful than most garden varieties. I also found some nutritional information to share with you. The Purple Wonder strawberries are also rich in antioxidants. On average, eight of them have the Vitamin C content of an eight ounce glass of orange juice or 140 percent of the recommended daily allowance (RDA). So, if citrus doesn’t work for you, these would be a great alternative.
Congratulations to Kevin Mackie, dairy manager at the ShopRite of Cheltenham who achieved the dream of a lifetime by winning a Grammy at the 54th Grammy Awards Ceremony. Mackie is a longtime associate of the ShopRite of Cheltenham, where he has worked as a manager for more than 16 years. He also has a passion for music and is both a performer and songwriter, often drawing from his experiences at ShopRite regarding healthy food and challenges effecting children. Along with co-producers Steve Pullara, Jim Cravero, Gloria Domina and Pat Roberson, Mackie released a CD entitled “All About Bullies…Big and Small.” The album featuring 37 tracks from various artists, won the Grammy for Best Children’s Album at the Grammys. The group was also nominated for a Grammy last year for their album “Healthy Food For Thought.”
Continuing the circle of life…we send condolences out to Gary Larkin, JOH on the very recent death of his mother Virginia, “Ginny” Larkin. Mrs. Larkin was a native Philadelphian, graduating from Germantown High School. In addition to Gary, she is survived by her son Bruce. She was blessed with five grandchildren, and three great grandchildren.
Birthday shout outs for the volatile month of March go out to: Dan Sanders, Acme Markets; Bob Unanue, Goya Foods; Bill Sumas, Village Supermarkets; Jeff Brown, Brown’s Super Stores; Sandy Brown, Brown’s Super Stores; Bill Carter, Knauss Foods; Dave Andrews, Kreider Farms; Lisa Yerger and Bill Todd (retired), Seltzer’s Smokehouse Meats. Buon compleanno a tutti!
Reminders: Phillies home opener is April 5 and the Philadelphia Soul’s home opener is April 1. Support our Philly teams!
Quote of the month: “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” Ghandi