Soup To Nutz

The saying “April showers bring May flowers” is certainly holding true this April, but I am sure the saying didn’t mean snow showers, which came at us this past week. Fortunately, baseball has started and the Flyers are battling the Rangers in the hunt for Lord Stanley’s cup, so we know we’re in the home stretch to summer.

At the end of March, Acme Markets celebrated the grand re-opening of its store at 10th and Reed Streets in South Philadelphia. The local trade was out in full force to support the Acme team as they continue to make small strides in regaining market share in the DelawareValley. Together with Swoop, the Eagles mascot, both Dan Croce and Dennis Clark were all smiles as they welcomed customers and vendors and gave generous donations to community groups including the Philadelphia Police Athletic League. Keep up the good work!

Giant/Carlisle and Martin’s recently announced that charitable donations made in 2013 from customers, associates and vendor partners totaled $25.1 million. Donations supporting hunger relief, improving the lives of children, and building healthier communities were made through a combination of cash and product.

“From each store associate up through to our corporate office and distribution centers, Giant/Martin’s is focused on being a better neighbor in the local communities that we serve through community giving and helping customers achieve healthier lifestyles,” said Larry Stover, senior vice president of store operations. “For the second year in a row we have achieved the $25 million in giving milestone! Thank you to our customers, our associates, and our vendor partners who have joined with us over the past year in support of hunger relief, children’s causes and building healthy communities.”

In 2013, nearly 100 regional food banks and local pantries across four states received more than $10 million in product, customer, vendor, and corporate donations. Food donation programs provided more than $9 million in meat and bakery items, equating to hundreds of thousands of pounds of food to assist struggling families. In celebration of the company’s 90th anniversary in 2013, Giant/Carlisle donated a total of $81,000 to nine regional food bank partners towards ongoing hunger relief efforts. Generous customers contributed approximately $1 million during two Bag Hunger in-store campaigns. Also for its 90th anniversary, Giant/Carlisle launched 90 days of giving where stores conducted at least one random act of kindness throughout the summer and into early fall. Giant/Carlisle also committed more than $11 million in contributions to local community groups and various nonprofit organizations throughout its market area, impacting tens of thousands of individuals and families. The grocers’ annual “Support Our Troops” in-store campaign, which benefits regional USOs and the Wounded Warrior Project, an organization that helps severely injured service members aid and assist each other, raised $518,000. Associate and corporate contributions to more than 40 local United Way agencies also totaled more than $1 million in 2013.

Dietz & Watson is celebrating its 75th birthday this year and as part of the celebration, the “Four Generations of Flavor Tour” began earlier this month at the company’s plant in Northeast Philadelphia. The truck will be traveling throughout the states, starting in Houston, TX and returning to Philadelphia in mid-October. The tour, featuring a custom Dietz & Watson branded food truck, will include games, giveaways, coupons and cooking demos plus consumers will be invited to take the company’s signature “Deli Challenge,” in which customers are invited to taste test Dietz & Watson products head to head against top competitors. I hear they’re also flying Momma Dietz out to some of the events, making it a real family celebration. Keep it here for highlights!

The National Association of Produce Market Managers (NAPMM) met in New York City from March 26-29 for its 68th Annual Conference and elected Dan Kane, general manager of the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market, as its president for the next year. At the same meeting, Rose Harrell, director of facilities for the Maryland Food Center Authority in Jessup, MD, was named “Market Manager of the Year” and Matthew D’Arrigo, Hunts Point Terminal Produce Market, received a certification of appreciation for his many years of support for the produce industry.

A tip of the hat to Wawa as they celebrated their 50th birthday on April 16. As part of the day-long celebration that began at 6:00 a.m. at the Folsom, PA store and ended with an evening function at the ConstitutionCenter in Philadelphia, all Wawa stores gave out free coffee all day. Did you get your Wawa?

The circle of life touched me twice in the past month as I lost my father as well as a very dear food industry friend. My father, Mario, passed away on April 12 of natural causes. He was 94 years young and enjoyed every minute of most of those years. I delivered remarks of remembrance at his funeral Mass. I would like to share with you some of what I said about this man who was an icon in the eyes of many, but to me he was just “Daddy”:  “Good Morning. On behalf of my mother, Rosalie, my brothers, Michael and Larry, and their respective families and my children, I want to thank you all for coming to celebrate the life of Mario Michael Maggio. And what a life it was! I could stand here for an hour, maybe two, and regale you with stories that would make you laugh and cry, but a few minutes are all I have to give you some insight into Mario Maggio. I had something entirely different planned to say, but after last night, when so many people he knew came to pay their last respects, I reworked the entire piece. And that’s what Mario Maggio is all about. Respect and family; work and fun. My father taught my brothers and me life lessons by example and with his many words of wisdom. He taught us that the most important thing in life is respect. He truly believed that one eats not only of food, but also of principle in this life. ‘You honor the dog for its owner,’ he would say. Some of the words I heard last night describing my father were: ‘generous, class act, gentleman, a man’s man, one in a million, kind, humble, exceptional, honorable, he lived a great life.’ They are all correct. They broke the mold when they made my father. He helped those in need without question, taught us that it is better to give than to receive and, as my son Gino said in his tribute post on Facebook, ‘it’s not the amount of money you have but how you treat people, that is what matters.’ Family meant everything to my father. We were brought up with one grandmother living four doors away on 21st Street and the other lived with us. Before we left for school, we would kiss the one at home and then go down the street to say good morning to the other. Sundays were for family road trips to places like Lancaster or maybe to Brandywine Racetrack for dinner (and a little bet) and if we didn’t travel, we went to 10th & Packer for pony rides and a Dairy Queen, with the whole neighborhood in tow. We lived in Ventnor for the summers when we were little and after a day on the beach, Sundays meant getting dressed up to go to the boardwalk in Atlantic City where we went to the Million Dollar Pier, had a Kohr Brothers and took a ride in the rolling chair. My father worked hard and long hours back then, but did as much as he could to spend time with us. My dad was truly the patriarch of our family, always making sure everyone was taken care of. That didn’t mean just my mother and the kids. No, it extended to his brothers, sister, their families and my grandmother, who he made sure had everything she needed. We spent all the holidays with my uncles Peter and Salvie and their families. When Aunt Precie and her children moved back from California, it just got better. As we got older, we went on family trips. My dad loved to travel. Some were short, some were long. All were fabulous and fun. Gino, Rosalie, Mario and Michael: you four were the lights of your Pop-Pop’s life. He loved watching you grow into fine young adults. I challenge you to lead the life he would want you to live. He will live in you forever. Last night, before the visitation began, we had time for our immediate family to share some last moments with him. Something didn’t sit right with me and I couldn’t figure out what it was. At about 5:45 many of my first cousins – all of whom live out of town – arrived. All was right. Our family was together. The only ones missing were my father’s younger brother, Salvie, and my Aunt Grace who live out west and weren’t up to making the trip. Our thoughts are with them today. He worked with his family his whole life, so when we all transitioned to adults and went to work with him, family took on a whole new meaning. When my father hired me, he told me that he expected a 110 percent effort and if I didn’t make the grade, he would be the one to fire me. I am sure he told my brothers the same thing. He expected us to work harder and more than any employee, and we did. Daddy often recounted the story of his father saying to him in a thick Italian accent after he had worked a 12 hour day, ‘Where you going?’ My father would respond, ‘Home. I just worked 12 hours.’ To which my grandfather would reply, ‘You only work a half a day?’  He wasn’t a micro manager. He let us do our thing and if he needed to ‘pull the reigns in,’ he did that too. I have to say that my fondest days were working with him and our family at the plant. My brothers and I had many conversations with him sitting behind the desk, one of us in front, always a good conversation; always with something to learn. Although we heard from many sources that he was proud of us, he would never say it directly to us. That just wasn’t his way. But we knew, or we wouldn’t have been working with him. I could not give this glimpse of my father without also talking about my mother. He raised her and then he married her, he said. He knew my mom her whole life. They have a mutual first cousin and they saw each other during a visit down the shore in the summer of 1953. The rest is history. It is often said that behind every great man is a greater woman. She is. She ran a tight ship at home and took excellent care of my father until the end. She was the love of his life. Mom, you and Daddy were such wonderful role models for us. Your love was a great force. We are so blessed to have been brought up in a home filled with the love that you and Daddy created. When it comes to enjoying life, nobody did it better than Mario. This is where I could begin to tell you story after story, but that will have to be a part of the memories you share with my mother and all of us as we keep his memory alive. Let’s just say he had a long and healthy life; he did good for many and asked for nothing in return, only respect. Heaven has a new angel. His name is Mario. I know he is already running the place. Rest peacefully, Daddy. We will love and miss you every day and we will honor you in the way we live our lives, every single day. If you would like to make a donation in honor of my dad, my family has requested it be sent to: Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 225 City Line Avenue, Suite 104, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004 or to St. John’s Hospice, 1221 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107.”

My dear friend Jeffrey Bilk of Burris Logistics passed away suddenly on March 31. He had been battling leukemia for some time, but when I spoke with him about three days before he passed away, he sounded well. Jeff was in the food industry his entire career. A graduate of Penn State, he began his career at Kraft Foods. Soon after, he moved to the other side of the desk and worked at Frankford Quaker, Twin County Grocers, Fleming and finally at Burris where he bought all the cheese for BJ’s. Jeff was my wingman. In fact, he has been my wingman for more than 30 years and I have been his. My buddy, my pal, my dearest friend. He was the first buyer (Frankford Quaker/Shop N Bag) I ever called on in the food industry and we forged a friendship that lasted a lifetime. Together with our families we enjoyed many fun times (like the time his wife Elaine and I rode a camel at the Philadelphia Zoo and Jeff and the girls watched us and had a few chuckles), traveled together with our spouses and other food industry notables (the Besnier trip to French Polynesia was amazing!), attended too many Phillies games to count, and celebrated many happy occasions and fortunately not many sad ones. Jeff is survived by his parents Marvin and Sunny Bilk, his wife, Elaine, daughters Cari Chartock (Mitch) and Staci O’Brien (David) and five adorable granddaughters. Rest well, my dear friend. I know you are in a better place but I will miss you every day.

Birthday shout outs for the showery month of April go to: Louis Eni Jr., Dietz & Watson; Ed Herr, Herr Foods; Theresa Lowden, JOH Produce; Charlie Poletti, Acosta; Jack Foti, Rosa Foods; Ron Benjamin, Pro-Star Marketing; and Larry Weaver, DFA. Buon compleanno a tutti!

As in many years, Passover and Easter fall in the same week this year. To all of our readers celebrating this week, enjoy the holidays with family and friends.

Quote of the month: “Do good and forget; do bad and remember.” Mario Maggio