“Necessity is the mother of invention.” Although the true author of this statement is unknown, it is credited to an Indian philosopher by the name Sachin Ananth Navale, and the earliest actual usage of this proverb is attributed to Richard Franck who used it way back in 1658. Notice that the proverb uses the word “mother” and not “father” for good reason. Women, throughout history and in their infinite wisdom, have come up with many common sense solutions when presented with situations that seemed to be beyond their control. Since 1987, March has been Women in History month in the U.S. It is meant to be a celebration of women’s contributions to history, culture and society. I went on an expedition in search of women who founded food/CPG companies, and what a treasure trove I found. I have given mention to two German women, Melitta Bentz, the founder of Melitta Filters and Clara Ritter, who founded the Ritter Sport Bar in previous Soup to Nutz columns. Clara Ritter, according to the company’s website, launched Ritter’s Sport Chocolate bar in 1932 as a square chocolate bar for the “sport” coat. “Let’s make a chocolate bar that fits in everyone’s jacket pocket without breaking and weighs the same as a normal long bar,” quotes the website. The rest is history. Housewife Melitta Bentz was looking for a way to make a cleaner, better cup of coffee in 1908. According to Melitta history, she punched holes in a brass pot and used a piece of her son’s copybook paper to create a two-part filtration system. She put the pot on a cup, filled it with ground coffee and poured in hot water. Voila! The coffee filter and drip coffee were born. Again, the rest is history. One of the most inspiring stories I found was the story of Pepperidge Farm, which actually was an estate in Connecticut. Margaret Rudkin, a housewife whose youngest son had many food allergies and asthma, began baking stone wheat bread when this child couldn’t each any processed food. With much audacity, she went to her local grocer wanting him to sell the bread in his store. One taste and he was sold. She went on to sell her products in the area, but once people got word of her delicious bread, it spread like wildfire and her business began. By 1939 Margaret had moved production from her kitchen to the family’s garage and in 1947 she had a real factory in Norwalk, CT. She continued to grow the business, but in 1961 Campbell Soup Company came calling and Margaret sold the company. These three women became entrepreneurs at the beginning of the 20th century when it was frowned upon to be a working woman. They all had families and held important jobs; they did it all.
So let’s fast forward to more current times to see how far we’ve come. Debi Fields’ passion for baking began as a teenager by taking the Nestle Toll House recipe and tweaking it until she had a revamped recipe and a really good cookie. Married at 19, her husband took her delicacies into the office, returning with high praise. After a terrible confrontation with a person at a dinner party who deemed her almost an imbecile, she vowed never to feel that way again. She followed her passion for cookies and came up with a business plan and, along with a $50,000 loan from her husband, she opened a small store in town. That was in 1977. Despite the odds, the business flourished and by the late 1980s the chain had grown to include 425 cookie stores across the United States and abroad, with annual retail sales of more than $87 million. A tip of the hat to all of these women and the others out there who give it their all and strive to make a difference in what goes in our shopping carts.
Giant/Carlisle and Martin’s recently announced its charitable donations made in 2014 totaled $27 million in combined cash and product contributions from customers, vendors and associates. “These are extraordinary results that reflect the deep heritage and commitment our associates have to helping our neighbors,” said Tom Lenkevich, president of Giant/Carlisle. “Thank you to our associates, customers, and vendors who joined with us in 2014 to support hunger relief efforts while doing all we can to help the youngest residents of our communities – our kids.” The donations were focused in part on hunger relief efforts, with regional food bank partners and local pantries receiving $12.2 million of the overall donations. Of the total hunger-related donation amount, approximately 86 percent came from safe consumable food donations, such as frozen meat and bakery items to regional food bank partners. Since 1996, the retailer has donated more than $37 million to local Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) hospitals, making them one of the top 10 fundraisers in the country for CMN. Giant/Carlisle is also committed to helping kids in education with its A+ School Rewards program. More than 2,000 public and private schools received $3 million during the 2013-14 school year to fund scholarship programs, technology equipment and other educational needs. Since A+ School Rewards launched in 2005, more than $19 million has been donated to local schools.
Friday, March 13 was a lucky day for the Chestertown, MD community as Acme Markets unveiled its almost unrecognizable expanded and upgraded store. “Over 69 years in Chestertown alone is something to celebrate but this expanded and remodeled store celebrates our customers and we are thrilled to offer them such a fantastic shopping experience,” said Dan Croce, president of Acme. “From the product selection to the new design and layout, our goal was to tailor this store for our neighbors in Chestertown. We’ve created a fresh, new feel to the shopping experience with greater selections, convenience, and variety. We look forward to continuing to bring the best of Acme to the residents of Chestertown and the surrounding area for many years to come.” Dan said they took vacant stores on both sides of the existing store and went to work, creating something very special for the Chestertown customers. As was the store in Media, this Acme was high on the short list for a total renovation. Donations were made to community organizations including mobile phones to the Mid Shore Council on Family Violence. Vendors and Acme category managers alike pitched in to make this store a showcase. I ran into Charlie Bell who was most recently the store director at the 19th and Oregon location in Philly and is now at Acme corporate office working under Jeff Geiges as the sales manager, meat, seafood and pre-packaged products. Congrats, Charlie!
ShopRite associates across six states banded together last September in a friendly competition sponsored by ShopRite and General Mills, the annual ShopRite Partners In Caring Cheerios Contest. The theme of this year’s contest was “Providing Hope to the Hungry” and in this spirit, ShopRite associates collected donations at check-out and held various events, raising $1.27 million to support regional food banks in communities served by ShopRite stores. Each of the winning stores was awarded with the selection of two ShopRite associates to be featured on a special-edition Cheerios box. These customized boxes, sold exclusively at ShopRite, are being unveiled at in-store celebrations during the month of March. Additionally, each winning store was awarded funds ($3,000 for the top 5 stores, and $500 for the remaining winning stores), that will be presented to local food pantries chosen by their store team. Among this year’s winning stores is the ShopRite of Snyder Avenue in Philadelphia, which selected associate Tilmon Bryant of North Philadelphia and Associate Teresa Smith of Southwest Philadelphia to be featured on 125,000 special-edition Cheerios boxes for their store’s commitment. The box was unveiled during a ceremony at the ShopRite of Snyder on March 11. “The ShopRite Partners In Caring program has been providing hope to the hungry in our communities for more than fifteen years,” said Christine Magyarits, spokesperson for ShopRite Partners In Caring. “This contest highlights the ‘partners’ in the program – our dedicated ShopRite associates, our generous customers, and one of our long-time vendor partners, General Mills, who shares our passion for helping those in need of food assistance.” Winning stores included 27 from New Jersey, 5 from New York, and 4 from Pennsylvania. The event, emceed by Orien Reid, took on a more personal meaning for the employees of this store as owner Jim Colligas, who passed away this past January, was remembered. Orien described him as, “passionate, committed, gracious, sincere and concerned about the welfare of others and the underserved in the community.” Congratulations to the winners!
The Mid Atlantic Food Trade Organization (MAFTO) held its rescheduled dinner dance honoring Weis Markets’ Jonathan Weis the weekend of March 13-15 at the Marriott Waterfront Hotel in Baltimore, MD. Jonathan and his family danced, ate and drank along with more than 500 food industry notables. Saturday afternoon guests were treated to samplings from many manufacturers including the one and only Tony Luke who cooked up pork sandwiches with provolone and broccoli rabe. It was almost like being in Philly! The event was rescheduled due to union issues at the troubled Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. Never fear, the MAFTO board worked diligently to return to AC in November for the regularly scheduled event…this year we’ll be heading to Harrah’s at the Marina and honoring New Albertsons COO Jim Perkins.
The Eastern Produce Council (EPC) and the Women’s Leadership Committee (WLC) will present an opportunity for the industry to become involved in hunger relief at the Community FoodBank of New Jersey in Hillside on Tuesday, April 14, 2015 from 6:00-8:00 p.m.
“We as a community of food industry leaders need to understand the needs of those who cannot afford to feed their families on a consistent basis,” said Paul Kneeland, Kings Food Markets and president of the EPC. “This night we can do our part to help and be a part of a community of volunteers that give back to our neighborhoods.” This event will be the first in an ongoing series of events at three food banks in the Metro New York and Philadelphia markets that the WLC is coordinating. The additional events will be in Egg Harbor on May 9 and Philadelphia on June 30 at Philabundance. WLC was established in October 2013 and its mission is to develop leadership for women and engage in the industry, trade, and public in the value and need of agriculture. Theresa Lowden of JOH and chair of the WLC said, “The WLC is proud to host these events at our local food banks. We feel a close connection through the food industry to feeding our communities and promoting an understanding of hunger while augmenting the distribution of food to the hungry.” Volunteers are needed for all events. This would include EPC members and their families, sports teams, friends and fellow employees and all food industry folks. EPC will provide a quick dinner prior to working the floor of the food bank. The two Metro New York events are Tuesday, April 14 at the FoodBank of Hillside from 6:00-8:00 p.m. and Saturday, May 9 at the Food Bank of Egg Harbor from 6:00pm-8:00 p.m. Please email Marianne Santo at [email protected] for more details or contact her directly at 908.527.3560. The Philadelphia event will be Tuesday, June 30, at Philadbundance from 6:00-8:30 p.m. Please email me at [email protected] for more details or contact me directly at 443.631.0172. Space is limited so please reserve your spot early.
Both of the Philadelphia area’s food industry colleges are tooting their horns with huge announcements. DelawareValleyCollege (DelVal) is going to become DelawareValleyUniversity. The Pennsylvania Department of Education has approved its application to become a university. On April 8 the school will be unveiling new signage, a new website, a new logo and the vision for its future. There will also be celebrations on campus and in the local community throughout the month of April to recognize this milestone. University status ushers in a new era for the institution and reflects DelVal’s expanded academic offerings, improved facilities and progress. It will also make the institution much more attractive to graduate and international students. “We have been working for years to move DelVal forward to this point and this approval is recognition of how far this institution has come,” said College president Dr. Joseph Brosnan.
Not to be outdone, Saint Joseph’s University’s Haub School of Business was recognized as one of the best graduate schools for 2016 by U.S. News and World. The report ranks the university’s executive MBA programs, which include the highly acclaimed Executive Food Marketing MBA, at Number 13, up from 16th place last year. The Food Marketing MBA program is also included in the “Marketing” category, which ranked 14th this year – up from 15th place. “The recognition is a tribute to our students and our faculty. We strive every year to keep our programs relevant and on the cutting edge of academic research and corporate innovation,” said Dr. Joseph DiAngelo, dean of the Haub School of Business.
The circle of life continues as we send condolences to the family of veteran Philadelphia food broker Bernie Borine, who passed away on February 23. Bernie began in the food business with Parfait Horseradish which was then sold to Gold’s. He went on to be a perishable food broker and spent the rest of his career in that sector. He was also quite philanthropic. He is survived by his wife Myrle, son Terry (Joanne) Borine, daughters Robbi Borine and Donna (Ray) Scheeler; three grandchildren and three great grandchildren. Rest in Peace.
Birthday shout-outs for the roaring month of March go out to: Dan Croce, Acme Markets; Bill Sumas, Village Supermarkets; Jeff Brown and Sandy Brown, both of Brown’s ShopRites; Vince Pagano, McCaffrey’s Markets; Bill Carter, Knauss Foods; Dave Andrews, Kreider Farms; and Bob Unanue, Goya Foods. Buon compleanno a tutti!
Quote of the month: “There isn’t a worthwhile thing in the world that can’t be accomplished with good hard work. You’ve got to want something first and then you have to go after it with all your heart and soul.” Margaret Rudkin, founder, Pepperidge Farm