Happy new year to you all! May this year ahead bring you good health and happiness. So, here we are at the beginning of another resolution free, post covid, tranquil year, right? Not so fast! The pieces on the retailer chessboard are already moving with executive changes playing out in our market. If this is any indication of what 2024 holds for us all, put both your harness and seatbelt on; it’s going to be one helluva ride! Of course, Food Trade News will keep you informed of each and every move, providing our insight and backstories whenever possible and we thank you for trusting us to get you the insider news you need to know.
Food insecurity is still a major problem across our nation, unfortunately. That being said, donations keep pouring into the agencies dedicated to eradicating hunger. The 2023 numbers are in and they are incredible. Philabundance distributed 46,832,322 pounds of food and non-food items to their partners in 2023. This included 46,241,937 pounds of food items and 590,386 pounds of non-food items. In addition, they distributed 50,000 LunchBox meals sponsored by The Giant Company during the summer hunger gap meal program to feed school children; rocked on with 93.3 WMMR for the 26th Annual Preston and Steve Campout for Hunger weeklong campaign and collected 1.7 million pounds of food and more than $948,000 in monetary donations; and graduated four talented classes of Philabundance Community Kitchen students. On top of that, monetary donations for the year were $26 million. Sharing Excess who has been rescuing food for a few years now, has some stunning numbers to report for 2023. Twenty million pounds of food was rescued, equaling 16 million meals feeding 1.5 million people in 28 states. They served 420 organizations, hosted 100 popups with the help of over one thousand volunteers. While those number are truly outstanding, I look forward to the day when donations go down because the need has diminished. We can only hope.
Speaking of feeding the underserved, earlier this month The Giant Company (TGC) announced the return of its annual Feeding School Kids initiative. Customers at Giant, Martin’s and Giant Heirloom Market stores are invited to round up their purchases to the nearest dollar, buy a reusable bag, or convert their CHOICE points into a donation for their local public school districts’ food programs. The initiative, now in its fourth year, will run for three months through March 31 to help meet the needs of many students.
This year, TGC will donate $100,000 to launch the program. Through Feeding School Kids, public school districts have been able to support meal programs and address food insecurity from supplying backpacks with weekend food to clearing outstanding student lunch debt to building on-campus food pantries and establishing garden programs.
Two major shows have announced their registration for booths and attendance for 2024. The Global Produce & Floral Show is the industry’s biggest trade conference and exposition in the Western Hemisphere. The event brings together the entire produce and floral industries. The 2023 Global Produce & Floral show exceeded expectations, bringing together more than 21,000 attendees from over 60 countries to visit with over 1,100 exhibitors and 3,281 buyers and from what we hear they are planning for an even better event in 2024. The show will run from October 17-19 in Atlanta. For more information, go to www.freshproduce.com/events/the-global-produce-and-floral-show/.
The International Dairy Deli Bakery Association IDDBA) has opened registration for IDDBA 2024, June 9-11 in Houston. This show is one of the best shows as the 2023 show floor had over 2,000 booths representing 564 retail companies and 28 countries. Attendees will see the latest trends and technology come to life in What’s in Store Live, have the opportunity to visit the Visionary Pavilion and check out New Product Showcase. For more information, go to https://www.iddba.org/iddba-show/about/registration.
Be sure to register as these shows typically sell out of booth space and hotel space early.
Earlier this month Saint Joseph’s University (SJU) announced an exciting new opportunity with the merger with the Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences (PCHS) in Lancaster PA, into Saint Joseph’s University. Last year’s merger with the University of the Sciences, added a School of Pharmacy, and programs in occupational therapy, physical therapy and physician assistant. This new merger will enhance healthcare offerings in the university. The array of 15 PCHS healthcare programs including nursing, will remain in Lancaster but will allow us to bring a new nursing program to the Philadelphia Campus. So how does this all relate to the food industry? The new alignment presents an opportunity for the Haub School of Business as well. SJU will now bring their business graduate offerings to the Lancaster market, which is 80 miles from Philadelphia and is the fastest growing county in Pennsylvania. Being in the heart of the farm belt will greatly enhance the programming for SJU’s nationally ranked food marketing program. New options in the food program will be in the area of hospitality, as Lancaster is also in the heart of the tourism belt in the state. The nexus of warehousing, manufacturing and retail will also provide exciting opportunities for data analytics, supply chain, and marketing majors. Aligning a major health care college into the SJU portfolio of academic offerings will allow the Haub School to enhance programs in health administration, pharmaceutical business, and training for medical doctors in the business of healthcare, which is much needed in the field of medicine. Congratulations, Saint Joe’s! THWND.
We lost two industry icons in the past few months. Bernie Kenny, owner of six ShopRite stores in Delaware, passed away on December 30 at the age of 85. Bernie was a self-made man who traveled from his childhood home in Elizabeth, NJ to Delaware with many stops along the way, meeting and leaving his mark on so many people. His son Chris Kenny talked about how he has heard countless stories from people known and unknown about how they were touched by Bernie’s charitable nature. Bernie lives on through his six children, and the over one hundred foster children who had the luck of the draw to spend time in the loving home of Bernie and his wife Peggy. I am sure there was a big welcoming committee for Bernie as he made his way to the heavenly gates. Thank you for all you did to help others while here on earth. We’re going to miss you.
Also leaving us was Charles E. Shorday Sr., 92, of Abington, a longtime Delaware Valley supermarket operator, Army veteran, and philanthropist. He passed away on November 29, 2023. Born in Doylestown, Mr. Shorday began his career in 1951 when he bought his stepfather’s small grocery store at the corner of Madison Avenue and Nemoral Street in Warminster. Five decades later, in 2002, he retired from the supermarket business having operated 23 stores in Philadelphia, Bucks, Montgomery, and Delaware Counties. He was philanthropic community leader, supporting the Willow Grove YMCA, and the naming of the Shorday Atrium and Shorday Center for Advanced Gastrointestinal Surgery at Abington Hospital, and Shorday Quiet Study Room at Abington Library recognize his contributions there. He was active with food banks, lobbied for empathy and medical care during the AIDS epidemic, and supported school and community events. Predeceased by his wife Joan and his three brothers, Mr. Shorday is survived by his children Charles Jr., Lynn and Susanne, five grandchildren, one great-grandson, and other relatives. The family requests that donations be made to the Sisters of the Redeemer, Sr. Ellen Marvel, 1600 Huntingdon Pike, Meadowbrook, PA 19046; and Abington Police Athletic League, 1166 Old York Road, Abington, PA 19001.
May their memory be a blessing.
Celebrating another trip around the sun during this first month of 2024 are: Linda Doherty, NJFC; Eve Gigis, Acme Markets; Gary Larkin, retired from Paul G. Nester and Co.; David Patragnoni, Silver Fern Farms; George Latella, Saint Joseph’s University; Loree Jones Brown, Philabundance; Tim Musgrove, Herr Foods; and Food World and Food Trade News alumni Karen Fernandez, Meg Major, Bob Ingram and Scott Lichterman. Buon compleanno a tutti!
Quote of the month: “And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been.” Rilke
Maria can be reached at maria@foodtradenews or 443.631.0172.