Greetings all and I hope everyone is surviving this brutal winter. Fortunately, there are only a couple of weeks until March is here, and I have my fingers crossed that not only is better weather on the horizon, but a continued drop in COVID-19 cases and a return to normalcy for us all. Then we can celebrate those small victories and convert them into more hope for the balance of 2021.
A couple of notables in our industry passed away last month right after we went to press last month.
I found out that Vince LoCurcio III, owner of the Nutley Park and Belleville, NJ, ShopRites, had passed away in early January at the age of 64. Vince was a lifelong Nutley resident and was known throughout the town for his love of family, patriotism, philanthropy, obligation to civic duty and lover of his beloved hometown of Nutley. Vince served on the Wakefern board, as well as a variety of Nutley-based charitable organizations. He is remembered for his many beautiful qualities including his spontaneity, sense of humor and a warm and welcoming demeanor. He is survived by his beloved wife of 26 years Carol, his children Michelle Yasso and her husband Michael, Joseph Frusteri and his wife Crissy, Luke LoCurcio and his wife Jodi, his mother Antoinette and his six grandchildren. The family requests that any donations in his memory be made to the Nutley Family Service Bureau, 169 Chestnut Street, Nutley, NJ 07110. May he rest in peace.
I was really taken aback when I learned that Robert “Bob” Powell of Allegiance Retail Services passed away on January 2. Bob was a 40+ year industry veteran and a true gentleman. He will be deeply missed by the entire Allegiance staff and membership as well as all who knew him. He is survived by his wife Ginger, two children and their spouses, Robert and Amanda Powell and Gina and Mark Charowsky, and three grandchildren. The family asked that any memorial donations in his name be sent to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and any condolences can be sent to his wife Ginger at 728 Newell Avenue, Manahawkin, NJ 08050. May his soul rest in eternal peace.
Wakefern announced it will join the Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag and its Beyond the Bag Initiative, a collective effort that aims to identify, test and scale design solutions to make a more consumer-friendly, sustainable retail bag. “For more than four decades the Wakefern Cooperative has supported sustainability through efforts such as recycling plastic bags and other materials, reducing food waste, and implementing energy efficient technology at retail and in our distribution centers. Encouraging our customers to use reusable bags to shop and reducing dependency on single use plastic and traditional paper bags is another important part of our commitment to the environment,” said Karen Meleta, Wakefern’s chief communications officer. “We believe the best bag is a reusable bag and we are proud to work with fellow Consortium Partners and innovators to create an even better retail bag and further advance our waste reduction initiatives.”
The Beyond the Bag Initiative is a three-year effort to create sustainable and cost-effective retail bag solutions and brings together major retailers. The Consortium engages with stakeholders including suppliers, materials recovery facilities, municipalities, advocacy groups and others, to collectively identify viable market solutions that can scale, and bring value to retailers, customers and end markets. The Consortium takes a holistic approach to identify and scale affordable, accessible and less wasteful retail bag alternatives. Its initiative spans multiple complementary workstreams, spurring innovation, advancing materials recovery through infrastructure investments, and identifying best practices for policy and engaging consumers.
Wakefern, whose supermarket banners already carry a variety of reusable bags, said it looks forward to discovering even better, more sustainable designs for a better bag at checkout. More information about the Beyond the Bag Initiative can be found at closedlooppartners.com/beyond-the-bag.
Congratulations to Douglas Sales as they were presented with the first annual “Best of the Best” award from Mrs. T’s Pierogies for the outstanding contributions in 2020. The exemplary frozen food sales agency has long been the Mrs. T’s representative in the area, and this was a big recognition for Ken Atkinson, John Pavlik and Michael Atkinson at Douglas Sales. Robert Melfi, Mrs. T’s Pierogies regional sales manager for the northeast, commented, “On behalf of the Mrs. T’s Pierogies team and organization, we commend and thank Douglas Sales. Most importantly, we look forward to continuing our partnership in the new year as we make the most of the momentum you’ve worked to build!” Kudos to all!
And while we are mentioning Mrs. T’s, we were saddened to learn that former Mrs. T’s VP Ron Suchecki Sr. lost his son Ron Jr. to COVID-19. Ron Sr. was a fixture on the frozen food landscape, who started his career with Lender’s Bagels and then helped Mrs. T’s rise to prominence. He was a board member on the NFRA, FRANE and was very involved with the EFRA, as well as being inducted into the NFRA Hall of Fame in 2017. This is the second tragedy for Ron and his wife Terry as they also lost their daughter Jeannie several years ago in an accident. A caring friend has set up a tax-deductible Go Fund me page for the family at http://gf.me/u/zif6is.
This fund is being used to help cover Ron Jr.’s many medical expenses, as well as provide some long term and short term support for his wife Melinda, and their four children, Jacob and Caleb (19), Sage (17), and Samuel (4). The goal of raising $50,000 has been set in order to hopefully cover a portion of his medical expenses, contribute towards their house payment, and to help with upcoming tuition payments for the kids. You can also make donations to the Suchecki Family Benefit Fund at Community Bank & Trust, Waco, Texas. They can be reached at www.cbtwaco.bank.com or 254.753.1521; mention the Suchecki Family Benefit account. Or you can mail donations to the bank, attention Benjamin Lacy, FBO Suchecki Family Benefit Account, P.O. Box 2303, Waco, Texas 76703. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Suchecki family at this time.
The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) has designated February 22 as Supermarket Employee Day. This day is a time for the food industry to recognize employees at every level for the work they do to help feed families and enrich lives. Without a doubt, supermarket employees have always been frontline heroes during periods of crisis. In the face of natural disasters, and now even global pandemics, supermarket employees keep communities going. When the rest of the world went into home sheltering, millions of supermarket employees came to work daily to keep shelves stocked and to provide communities with essential services that helped them survive and thrive. Quite simply, supermarket employees have earned the world’s and the nation’s gratitude—which is why we are creating a holiday to celebrate them. FMI invites you to join the celebration. Go to www.fmi.org to find out more about it.
Just like the FMI is recognizing supermarket associates, we can all learn that investing in great people is one of the sure paths to success. Surviving and thriving in challenging times requires an extraordinary team, and by spotlighting these frontline playmakers, well, it just seems like a no-brainer.
Stay safe, (stay warm) stay healthy, and it looks like there may be some light at the end of our tunnel!
As always you can reach me at 201.250.2217 or [email protected].