Dick Bestany

A study has found that Giant/Landover is consumers’ favorite grocer, followed closely by ShopRite and then Wal-Mart, according to Market Force Information, the world’s leading customer intelligence solutions company. The panel research study, conducted in March with more than 6,400 participants, also uncovered why consumers prefer one grocer to another, among other insights.

When consumers were asked which grocery store captures the most of their dollars, eight grocers earned more than two percent of the vote, with Wal-Mart, Kroger and Publix Super Markets landing in the top three spots. However, since grocery retailers have thousands of locations and others have a fraction of that, Market Force indexed the results by store count in order to get a more accurate representation of the results. This analysis moved Giant/Landover to the top position, closely followed by ShopRite, and then Wal-Mart, Publix, Costco, Kroger, Aldi and Safeway. This is a shift from 2011 when Kroger and ShopRite held the top two spots. Aldi leads on price while Publix shines in service and surroundings.

Speaking of Giant/Landover, their newest area store in Perry Hall, MD offers a glimpse of the future when shoppers will increasingly rely on technology, demand more organic foods and expect a wide selection of prepared meals.

The unit was purchased from Fresh & Green’s, but had been operated for many years as a Super Fresh before that retailer closed all of its Maryland stores. Giant/Landover has recently been launching new locations, remodeling older supermarkets and acquiring competitors’ closed ones.

Recent reports predicting drought-related impact on food prices and what it means for grocery bills reinforce the ways in which food retailers are meeting the needs of their customers. According to Food Marketing Institute (FMI) research, since the recession in late 2007, 19 million more households have adopted a more economical approach to food-buying and value-seeking shopping habits.

A collaborative study by FMI and its research partner Booz & Company, “2012 U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends,” demonstrated how consumers are willing to accept living with less, traveling farther for lower prices, and noting that price, assortment and convenience are the most important factors affecting how they choose where to shop. The U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends data found that 42 percent of consumers have always been frugal, with an additional 32 percent adopting this behavior during the recession.

Baltimoreis expanding a program for people in areas with limited access to healthy foods, enabling them to order groceries on the Internet and pick up their purchases at a designated place in their neighborhood. The two-year-old Virtual Supermarket Program, which operates from three Enoch Pratt Library branches, will now be offered at some senior centers and residences for the disabled.

The Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB) is responding to the growing hunger crisis facing theWashingtonmetro area by moving to a larger, newly-constructed food distribution center inNortheast DCthat will enable it to double its food storage and distribution capacity over time and foster healthy eating.

The new $37 million food distribution center, which is fully paid for, is located at 4900 Puerto Rico Avenue, NE near the food bank’s former location on Taylor Street, NE.

Lynn Brantley, CAFB’s president and CEO, said, “Despite the fact that we are distributing 33 million pounds of food annually – half of which is fresh produce – we were no longer able to meet the growing demand, because we outgrew our former warehouse. Poverty is on the rise in our region and nationally.”

Due to the uncertain economy and the dire situation it has created, CAFB embarked on a capital campaign five years ago under the leadership of co-chairs Donald E. Graham, J.W. Marriott Jr., the late Abe Pollin and Bennett Zier. Hilary Salmon, the food bank’s director of special projects, played a leading role in the capital campaign and transition into the new facility.

The campaign concluded with a capstone grant of $5 million from Mr. and Mrs. William E. Conway Jr. through their charitable trust, The Bedford Falls Foundation. Christel Hair, the food bank’s chief development officer, said, “The food bank will use $500,000 from that grant to match future donations for nutritious food that will stock the new distribution center.”

CAFB, a member of Feeding America, was founded on January 15, 1980 on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday and takes a comprehensive approach to addressing hunger by increasing access to nutritious food, initiating change through skill-building and advocacy and creating sustainability with outreach and training for those at risk of hunger. CAFB is theWashington metro area’s largest nonprofit food and nutrition education resource. To learn more about the new food distribution center, go to http://www.capitalareafoodbank.org/

Every two years, the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) hosts the largest convergence of food retailers, wholesalers and their partners for both education and networking opportunities across the retail industry. For years – 24 to be exact – that show was held inChicago. It was recently announced that FMI 2014 will return toChicagoand theMcCormickCenteron June 10-13, 2014.

FMI president and CEO Leslie G. Sarasin said, “Chicago already supports an inherent food culture and it’s home to 19 of our FMI retailers. I’m anxious to help bridge our return to Chicago, as FMI featured its convention 24 times – from the early 1980s to 2007.” For more information on the 2014 convention, visit www.FMI2012.com.

The Whole Foods Market at 2700 Wilson Boulevard in Clarendon,VA is building a new “beer room” overlooking the store. The “Arlington Pub” will be located on the second floor of the store and will offer local draft beers, wines by the glass, bottled craft beers, growlers and an organic coffee bar in a “pub style atmosphere.” The pub will also offer “tasty nibbles” for patrons. All beers will come from a 200-mile radius.

Whole Foods is planning a grand opening celebration for the pub on September 20. The event, which is open to the public, will feature raffles, beer mug giveaways, beer and food tastings, and meet and greets with brewery representatives.

“Pull up a stool, fill up a mug and join Whole Foods Market Arlington in celebrating the official opening of Arlington Pub,” the store said in an invitation to the event.

Progressive Grocer, a supermarket industry publication, has named Matthews, NC-based Harris Teeter as its 2012 Retailer of the Year. In announcing its 2012 Retailer of the Year recipient, editorial director Meg Major (a former editor of Food Trade News) praised Harris Teeter’s “customer-focused culture, which has been at the forefront of the company’s exemplary performance through the years.”

Maryland-based McCormick & Company, a global leader in flavorings, recently announced that it had signed an agreement to purchase 100 percent of the assets of Wuhan Asia-Pacific Condiments Co., Ltd. (WAPC), a privately held company based in China. The completion of the agreement is expected to occur in mid-2013 subject to regulatory approval.

Alan Wilson, chairman, president and CEO of McCormick, stated, “McCormick first enteredChina more than 20 years ago to provide a local source of supply to industrial customers. From this foundation we launched the McCormick brand of flavor products for consumers. Today, McCormick is one of the leading brands of spices and seasonings, with particularly strong category share in the coastal regions. Across both our consumer and industrial business, we operate profitably inChina and have grown sales at a 16 percent compound rate for the past five years.

“The addition of WAPC extends our broad range of flavors inChinawith bouillon. In WAPC’s top markets, more than half of consumers use chicken bouillon each day at every meal to enhance the flavor of their food.”

Empowerment expert and educator Dr. Bertice Berry, author of the best-selling memoir The Ties That Bind: A Memoir of Race, Memory and Redemption, will encourage members to “Profit from Your Life Experiences” at the Network of Executive (NEW) Leadership Summit 2012, October 22-23 inDallas.

Dr.Berrywill offer insights on becoming your best self and helping others to do the same by reviewing past experiences. The mother of five, former talk show host and award-winning comedian will provide tools for personal and professional growth.

Two other keynote speakers will be featured at the leadership summit. Julie Gilbert Newrai – former vice president of Best Buy and CEO of WOLF, a consulting firm specializing in brand building and cultural transformation – will blend real-life business stories, data and an action agenda in her keynote presentation “The Future of Women and Retail.” In a closing keynote address, high-performance motivator Yvonne Camus will offer her insights on “Leading a High-Performance Life.” Nine hundred industry leaders and emerging leaders are expected to attend.

The two-day program includes three tracks of concurrent educational sessions for emerging leaders, mid-level leaders and senior executives. The sessions will feature: Becky Shambaugh, president and CEO of Shambaugh Leadership; CNN personality Nadia Bitchily, president of Greater Impact Communications; Simon T. Bailey, founder of Brilliance Institute; renowned leadership guru Cy Wakeman, president of Cy Wakeman Inc.; economist Sylvia Ann Hewlett, founding president of the Center for Talent Innovation; and Madelyn Yucht, principal consultant for Linkage.

Also during the NEW Leadership Summit, an executive round table of industry leaders will offer their thoughts on the power of women in tomorrow’s consumer products/retail industry. Panelists include: Irene Chang Britt, president of Pepperidge Farm; Tom Falk, president of Kimberly-Clark Corporation; Susan Chambers, chief people officer for Wal-Mart; and Bhavdeep Singh, executive vice president of operations for Ahold USA.

For more information go to www.newonline.org.

On a personal note, congratulations to Kathy’s and my daughter, Cyndi Ireland, Coca-Cola Refreshments, who successfully completed her second Iron Girl Triathlon which was held in Columbia, MD last month.

We extend our sympathy to Joan Dobbin and her family on the death of her husband, Alvin Dobbin, former chief operating officer and executive vice president of Giant Food. Al was a long time supporter and friend of Food World. He will be missed.

It saddens us to report the death of two of the finest “old line food brokers” we have ever known, Paul “The Golden Greek” Stamatos and Freeman Chase, bothNew England based food brokers who ran extremely successful companies in that market.

Anniversary wishes go out to: Ron and Terri Fish, Reading Consumer Products, their 50th ; Super Rite’s retiree Matt and Mary Toback, their 62nd; Metromedia’s David and Harriet Finkelstein, their 54th; the world renowned marketing consultant Mike and Linda Wilson; Safeway’s Greg and Carolyn TenEyck, their 28th; the food industry’s roving ambassador, Pat and Lee McCarthy, their 46th; and my son and daughter-in-law, Rick and Stephanie Bestany, their 12th.

Happy Birthday wishes are sent to my wife, Kathy, and grandson, Samuel James Bestany, his 8th, to Children’s Cancer Foundation’s Shirley Howard, her 83rd; and to John Griffin, founder, president and chairman of The Griffin Report of New England, his 81st.

Usually this column is written in Columbia, MD at home or at the editorial offices of Best-Met Publishing. However, for the first time since Food World was acquired by Best-Met Publishing–1978–it is being written on Cape Cod in Orleans, MA as Kathy and I are on an extended vacation with our grandchildren, RJ and Samuel Bestany and Kate Ireland.(Orleans is in the middle of Cape Cod with the Atlantic Ocean on both sides.)

Further down the Cape at Provincetown, MA, the bay side and ocean side come together.  It is a very beautiful place and we are experiencing perfect summer weather.

DeMoulas Supermarkets, a Massachusetts-based supermarket chain, recently opened a new store on Cape Cod in the town ofBourne. We visited the new store about a week after it opened and the place was doing a very brisk business at 9:00 on a Sunday morning.

Consumer Reports has ranked DeMoulas/Market Basket as the number seven supermarket in its 2012 Survey. It is, as most of our readers know, a growing chain with 69 stores from Central New Hampshire toSoutheastern MA. Market Basket’s main competitors are Hanaford, Shaws, Stop & Shop, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods Markets.

While at the new store we had the opportunity to spend some time with an old friend from our New Englanddays, Joe Rockwell, vice president of grocery sales/merchandising for Market Basket. Joe wanted to be remembered to his many friends in the Mid-Atlantic who have at one point in their careers called on Market Basket.

We reminisced a bit about “the good old days” and recalled the many good times we had. If you’re ever in the area and have never been to a Market Basket, pay them a visit. You will like what you see.

The grocery industry, as big as it is, is still a small business where everyone knows everyone. However, it’s changing rapidly.

Also while on the Cape, Stop & Shop, the sister company to Giant/Landover and Giant/Carlisle, opened a new store inHyannis. Store officials said that this new store is 65,000 square feet, about 10,000 square feet larger than its former Hyannis store. Among the new offerings is an expanded selection of organic products including a showcase of the chain’s own “Nature’s Promise” items.

Retailing and branding expert Julie Gilbert Newrai, former senior vice president of Best Buy, will address the future of women and retail at the NEW Leadership Summit 2012, October 22-24 in Dallas, TX.

Gilbert Newrai, president of WOLF, a consulting firm specializing in brand building and enterprise-wide cultural transformation, will blend real-life business stories, data and actionable advice in her keynote presentation on Tuesday, October 23rd. During her 18 years as a corporate senior executive and four years heading her own firm, Gilbert Newrai has built growth for companies such as Motorola, Lifetouch, Microsoft, Major League Baseball and Target.

The NEW Leadership Summit 2012 will kick off Monday October 22, with two one-hour NEW Leadership Academy workshops. The afternoon also will offer NEW regional officers a session on best practices, member-company affinity group meetings and a networking workshop for first-time NEW Leadership Summit attendees.

More than 900 industry leaders and emerging leaders are expected to attend the NEW Leadership Summit 2012. To join the network, contact your company’s NEW Ambassador or join now for $200 as an individual member and receive 12 months of NEW benefits, including invitations to national conferences and full access to the network’s online networking and collaboration tools.

Customers at Giant/Carlisle and Martin’s once again showed their overwhelming support for local Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Hospitals through the grocers’ annual in-store paper balloon campaign. From June 24 through July 7, customers could purchase a paper CMN balloon at the checkout for a $1 donation. This year, customers raised a record $553,616 through the campaign.

“Our customers and associates’ compassion to the cause of helping the youngest members of our community is why Giant/Martin’s continues to rank among CMN’s top 10 fundraisers in the country,” said Jeff Beaulieu, vice president of sales and merchandising. “Your record-breaking donations are making a difference as thousands of kids throughout the regions we serve continue to fight for good health.”

Since 1996, Giant/Martin’s has raised more than $25 million in support of children’s hospitals in the Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Danville/Altoona, PA, Baltimore, MD, Washington, DC and Richmond, VA areas.

Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, the alliance of premier hospitals for children, is a non-profit organization dedicated to saving and improving the lives of children by raising funds for children’s hospitals across North America. Each year the 170 CMN Hospitals provide the finest medical care, life-saving research and preventative education to help millions of kids overcome diseases and injuries of every kind.

Mid-Atlantic Convenience stores (MACS) of Richmond, VA has announced a new retail branding strategy that positions MACS as the exclusive developer for the Circle K brand in four regions: Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia.

MACS is currently comprised of approximately 300 company-owned and dealer-operated retail locations throughout Virginia and Maryland, which until now, have gone to market as various brands, such as Uppy’s, Tiger Mart and On the Run.

MACS will begin converting its 71 company-owned retail locations to Circle K stores, the first wave of a comprehensive Circle K brand platform that will span the entire mid-Atlantic region. This deal between MACS and Circle K will provide opportunity for independent c-store dealers in the Mid-Atlantic region who wish to become a Circle K brand franchisee.

Delaware Governor Jack Markell recently signed legislation that paves the way for online casino games such as blackjack and poker within the state. Along with online slot machine play and casino games,Delaware lottery tickets will be sold through a state-run website. The state is planning to launch online gaming in 2013 and also wants users to be able to access online betting sites via smart phones and tablets.

Our sincere sympathy is extended to the family of Henry A. Schimberg, 79, former president and chief executive of Coca-Cola Enterprises, a major independent bottler of Coca-Cola products, who died recently while traveling in Europe.

Muhtar Kent, chairman and CEO of the Coca-Cola Company, called Mr. Schimberg “a legendary and extraordinarily accomplished leader in our business. Known for his unflagging professionalism and commitment to executional excellence, he was instrumental in driving CCE’s growth across North America andEurope. Henry was a truly remarkable and inspirational individual, both professionally and personally.”

Congratulations to Max Henderson on being named senior VP of customer development, at C&S Wholesale Grocers. Max recently resigned his position as president of Southern Family Markets when C&S sold the division to Belle Foods. Max previously held executive positions at Ahold-owned Giant/Carlisle and Tops Friendly markets. C&S operates 50 locations serving more than 4,000 retail stores nationally.

How about a “BaltimoreDog!” The Owings Mills market and deli, Mr. Charles Market, is offering a “Baltimore Dog,” a split and griddled all beef kosher hot dog wrapped in bologna and applewood smoked bacon, yellow mustard, topped with Mr. Charles Markets’ own made coleslaw!

Celebrating birthdays this month are: Sonia Diamond, wife of Food-A-Rama’s Paul Diamond and grandmother of Jeremy Diamond, her 90th; retired food broker Joanne Stathes; B. Green’s Benjy Green; Kathleen Ellis, wife of AWI’s (retired) Bernie Ellis.

Celebrating anniversaries this month are: Reading Consumer Products’ Ron and Terry Fish; their 51st; Best-Met Publishing Company’s treasurer Bill and Ann Speakman,, their 49th; Tootsie-Rolls’ Tom and Kathy LaRochelle, their 48th; Best-Met’s (retired) Nina and John Weiland, their 45th; and LaFamiglia’s Burt and Bernadette Quinn, their 36th.

Senior executives from some of the most successful CPG/retail companies will share their insights on climbing to the highest levels at the (Network of Executive Women) NEW Leadership Summit 2012, October 22 -24 at the Omni Dallas Hotel in Dallas.

Irene Chang Britt, president of Pepperidge Farm; Susan Chambers, chief people officer for Wal-Mart; Tom Falk, president of Kimberly-Clark Corp.; and Bhavdeep Sing, executive vice presidentof operations for Ahold USA, will share their views from the c-suite. The executive round table will be moderated by NEW past chair Alison Kenney Paul, vice chairman,U.S. retail leader and principal for Deloitte.

The NEW Leadership Summit 2012 will kick off October 22, with two one-hour NEWLeadershipAcademyworkshops. The afternoon also will offer NEW regional officers a session on best practices, member-company affinity group meetings and a networking workshop for first-time NEW Leadership Summit attendees.

The NEW Town Hall 2012 will include the organization’s annual members meeting plus special remarks from sociologist, educator and talk show host Dr. Bertice Berry, author of the memoir, “The Ties That Bind: A Memoir of Race, Memory, and Redemption.”

For more information or if you are interested in attending this meeting, visit www.newonline.org .

And speaking of the Network of Executive Women, 75 NEW members learned how to grow their persona at the NEW Mid-Atlantic spring networking event last month held at theHiltonGardeninGreenbelt,MD.

Lynn Lewis, author of “Climbing The Ladder in Stilettos,” offered practical tools for developing a professional persona and led a bonus workshop on identifying and leveraging unique traits and networking during even casual interactions.

Among the organizations sending delegations to the NEW Mid Atlantic network event were Acosta, Advantage Sales & Marketing, Catalina, Melitta, Pepsico, Publix, Sara Lee, Sweetbay Supermarket,UniversityofFloridaand theUniversityofTampa.

I recently learned that O’Bryne Distributing, Inc. has been acquired by Snyder’s-Lance. Both companies operate DSD networks with the O’Bryne routes expected to be integrated into Snyder’s Lance routes. (On a personal note, I love the Lance snacks, so with the acquisition of O’Bryne Distributing maybe we will be getting a larger variety of snacks.)

The Chicago Sun Times recently reported on a new American Consumer Satisfaction Index (ASCI) saying that McDonald’s got the poorest customer satisfaction rating – 73 percent – of any fast food chain in the survey. The rating was up one point, but continues a three-year tradition of McDonald’s having the worst customer service perception of fast food chains.

The story notes, “Papa John’s earned the highest customer satisfaction rating – 80 percent – followed by Subway, Little Caesar, Dunkin’ Donuts, Wendy’s, Pizza Hut, Domino’s Pizza, Taco Bell, Starbucks, KFC and Burger King.”

Starbucks saw its customer satisfaction drop five percent, the biggest decline in this year’s survey.

The National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Convention, taking place October 6-9 at theMarriottWardmanParkinWashington,DC, is the place where real business happens for the entire frozen industry. This unique event, hosted by the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA), gives attendees the opportunity to meet one-on-one with dozens of leading companies in just a few days.

This convention is different from other trade events because attendees will spend a majority of their time in face-to-face business meetings with the trading partners of their choice. NFRA provides its retailer members with complimentary meeting rooms so they may hold appointments throughout the convention. Last year’s event united more than 1,300 attendees from every segment of the frozen and refrigerated foods industry to network and conduct business.

From beginning to end, the convention is structured to help attendees make valuable connections. The event kicks off with the popular Taste of Excellence Reception on October 7, where frozen and refrigerated food manufacturers can showcase their latest products. The Taste of Excellence allows delegates the opportunity to interact with industry colleagues while sampling the newest items in frozen and refrigerated foods.

This year’s agenda features Monday morning breakfast speaker Chris Wallace, Fox News analyst. Also, former Republican presidential candidate Pat Buchanan and Democratic political strategist Donna Brazile will engage in a point/counterpoint debate of the upcoming presidential election.

Additionally, the NFRA will present the prestigious Golden Penguin Awards to the winners of the “best frozen promotions” during National Frozen Food Month.

NFRA is a non-profit trade association representing all segments of the frozen and refrigerated foods industry. Headquartered inHarrisburg,PA, NFRA is the sponsor of March Frozen Food Month, June Dairy Month, June/July Ice Cream & Novelties and the October Good Food for Kids educational outreach program.

Summer brings us fresh fruits from all over the country. The sweet cherry harvest has begun inEastern Washington, which will produce most of the nation’s crop.

The Tri-City Herald reports only minimal damage has been reported from recent rains, which can cause ripe cherries to split. The state ofWashington is expected to provide about 18 million boxes of a national crop estimated at 20 million boxes. A box holds 20 pounds of cherries.Oregon,Idaho,Montana andUtah also produce sweet cherries.

The president of the Washington State Fruit Commission and Northwest Cherry Growers, B.J. Thurlby, says the cherry harvest will be in full blast by the Fourth of July.

Safeway, Inc. has joined the global custom market research companyDuke-IpsosResearchCenteras a board advisor.

The Duke-Ipsos Research Center, jointly led by Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and Ipsos, consists of seven premier consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers as well as retail board advisors.

The purpose of the center is to advance the knowledge of participating members through a better understanding of the decision theory associated with creating demand generation through the shopping experience. While board members consist of CPG companies, retail board advisors will predominantly consist of retailers that guide the board on their research plans and share in the learning from theDuke-IpsosCenter’s research projects. Participating retailers will also provide access to their stores for research testing.

According to a recent study by Kantar Retail ofCambridge,MA, Wal-Mart Stores’ SuperCenters exhibited lower prices in a comparison with Amazon and Walmart.com, though each option had its own strengths.

Selecting 36 national-branded items from edible grocery, non-edible grocery, HBC and general merchandise, the study found SuperCenters had the lowest overall prices in the two consumables categories and was tied in HBC.

Walmart.com was priced percent above SuperCenters overall, although its general merchandise products were the least expensive of the three; and Amazon was priced 20.5 percent above SuperCenters. However, though Amazon was more expensive than SuperCenters in the non-edible grocery category, it was lower than Walmart.com by 12.2 percent, Kantar noted.

J&J Snack Foods Corp. of Pennsauken, NJ, has acquired Kim & Scott’s Gourmet Pretzels. Kim & Scott’s is distributed throughout food service and retail channels. Gerald Shreiber, president and chief executive officer of J&J, said, “Kim & Scott’s is an entrepreneurial company built on hard work and a love for soft pretzels. Co-founder Scott Holstein will continue to work for the company. The Chicago-based soft pretzel manufacturer utilizes all-natural, premium ingredients in every hand twisted & scratch-made product.

Headed to Cape Cod, one of my favorite vacation spots, and will spend a little time at my favorite watering hole, Land Ho in Orleans Center—great food and drink! Enjoy the summer.

Birthday greetings go out this month to: Michele Muckle, daughter of Safeway’s Craig and Yolanda Muckle; Nestle’s Anthony McPhail; Integrity/ESM’s Bob Gossweiler; the owner/operator of America’s largest laundromat chain, Michael Finkelstein; retired Box’n Save’s John Sieglein; Solomon Enterprises’ Esther Solomon; Sherry Rich, wife of International Food and Beverage (IFB) president, Frank Rich; and Bernadette Quinn, wife of LaFamiglia’s mixologist, Burt Quinn.

Celebrating anniversaries are: Michael and Linda Hughes, Hughes Sales, their 18th;  retired Box’n Save’s John and Penny Sieglein, their 43rd; and Pete and Barbara Manos, Giant/Landoverretired; their 51st on July 16th.

Welcome to the June 2012 issue of Food World, the 34th Annual Market Study we have published.

This study is completely researched and prepared by the staff of Best-Met Publishing Company and is the most definitive study done about the grocery business on the East Coast. Retailers, food manufacturers, food marketing companies, print and broadcast media, marketing consultants and manufacturers will be quoting the facts and figures contained here for the next twelve months. And we are proud to boast that this issue will be used as a source by all the major newspapers and media outlets in the Mid-Atlantic and throughout the entire Eastern part of theUnited Statesand all the food companies who sell the great retailers doing business east of theMississippi River.

While many in and outside the grocery industry benefit from all the research in this issue, the great companies that choose to advertise in it are the major beneficiaries. Their ads will be seen and read by every food company and food retailer doing business or wishing to do business on the East Coast. No other medium can deliver such a targeted audience. We thank all our many advertisers and we urge our readers to support them and their products.

Preparing such an issue is no easy task. It takes of months of preparation and research from many sources. The work begins in January and is not complete until the June issue goes to the printer. Along the way, many people spend many hours gathering information, stories, pictures and all the facts and figures needed to put the June Market Study together.

The one who puts it all together is publisher Jeff Metzger. He oversees all the work along the way and directs the entire process from beginning to end.

Heading up the talented team of writers, researchers and sales people is vice president and editorial director, Terri Maloney. Assisting Terri are Jenny Jones and Matt Danielson of Electronic Inc, our production company. Beth Pripstein, a 16 year veteran of Best-Met Publishing, has the task of preparing the invoices, maintaining our mailing lists, preparing and maintaining the billing, assisting with the proof reading, and helping with much of the research. And without our advertising staff and marketing staff, we would never have an issue to put together. They are the most knowledge and able food trade people in the United States: Karen Fernandez, director of sales and marketing; Maria Maggio, vice president/general manager, Food Trade News; and advertising and sales executive Mike Keba.

A HUGE THANKS has to go to our loyal readers, many of whom have been with us for years along with the legions of food broker sales people and the direct manufactures who serve the retailers of the Mid-Atlantic.

A very special “thanks” to the retailers of the Mid-Atlantic for without them, there would be no market study.

The Maryland Food bank merged with Food Resources, Inc. of Hagerstownto create the Maryland Food Bank-Western Branch. The new branch will serve as a central distribution point for a network of more than 120 soup kitchens, pantries, shelters and other community-based organizations in Allegheny, Frederick, Garrett and Washingtoncounties. According to a recent study by Feeding America, the national network of food banks, more than 52,000 individuals in the Western Marylandregion are food-insecure. “This merger is critical to bridging the hunger gap in Western Maryland,” said Maryland Food Bank CEO Deborah Flateman, “with additional resources and investments, this branch will be able to distribute nutritious food more efficiently, enabling us to help many more families in need.”

Retired Giant/Landover chief merchandising officer and senior vice president Dave Herriman informed us that Al Lechert (retired Giant VP-construction) passed away the week of April 15.

Other Giant/Landover retiree news from Dave – Anna Hedrick, former executive secretary at Giant is at the Hospice of theChesapeake. She is 90 years old and “has cancer but her spirits are good.”

(Food World welcomes any news about retirees. You can call the information to us at 410-730-5013 or e-mail me at: [email protected].)

We were saddened to learn last month of the death of Marsh H. Blackburn, the former chairman and chief executive officer of Sales Force Cos., who died at 82 of heart failure.

As the head of Sales Force Cos., Blackburnwas an industry pioneer in transforming the company into a multi-regional food brokerage, said Mark Baum, the former CEO of the National Food Brokers Association (NFBA).

Blackburnwas active with several industry trade groups, and was a past chairman of the Food Industry Crusade Against Hunger, now called Food For All. He was the first broker ever to receive FMI’s William H. Albers Award in 1994, and also won the FMI Distinguished Service Award, the National Grocers Association Industry Service Award, and the J. Frank Grimes Award from IGA.  He was also the task force chair of an industry group that combined the Uniform Product Code Council with the Uniform Communication Standards organization and was on the Executive Committee of the ICC.

After he retired form Sales Force in 1994, he worked with Andersen Consulting and served on the USDA International Section Advisory Board, traveling to several Eastern European countries as they privatized their food industries.

According to a survey done by RetailingToday.com, Giant/Landover and ShopRite are shoppers’ two favorite supermarkets. Market Force Information released results of the survey of 6,428U.S. and Canadian consumers released last month.

Giant/Landover was in the top spot, followed by ShopRite, Wal-Mart, Publix and Costco. Giant got high marks for its fast checkouts and organic options, but discount grocer Aldi beat out the others on price, while Publix was recognized for atmosphere and courteous staff. Wal-Mart was recognized for convenience as a one-stop shopping destination, but placed last for courteous staff and high-quality meat and produce.

Shoppers ranked the deli, butcher and baker as the most important departments, and considered high-quality produce more important than high-quality meat, with long wait times in the checkout lines causing the most dissatisfaction.

For more information visit www.retailingtoday.com

Food Lion’sWilliamsburg,VAstore has been awarded a LEED Silver certification for a number of environmentally friendly construction and energy-efficient features, including an on-site recycling center, an educational kiosk and preferred parking for carpool vehicles.

Established by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), certification recognizes the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. The store features a number of environmentally-friendly features, including: LED lighting in the frozen food cases; bike racks and preferred parting for carpool vehicles; low-flow and sensor-activated water fixtures in restrooms; rainwater harvesting system that captures rainwater from the roof and reuses it for irrigation; environmental education kiosks with sign age; carbon dioxide sensors located throughout the store; energy-efficient roof; in-store customer and associate recycling programs

Happy birthday wishes go out to: Mickey Parsons; Coca-Cola Refreshments’ Cyndi Ireland; H&S Bakery’s J.R. Paterakis; Agora International’s Jerry Shupack; Food World’s Beth Pripstein, Terri Maloney, Jeff Metzger, Lou Rosenthal (retired); and to my granddaughter, Kathryn Dougherty Ireland, who will be celebrating her 6th birthday. Congratulations to my wife Kathy, who will celebrate her 50thEmmanuelCollege reunion inBoston with almost 100 of her fellow alumnae and me.

Celebrating wedding anniversaries this month are: John and Donna Plumhoff, their 30th; H&S Bakery’s JR and Emily Paterakis, their 30th; display consultant Mike and Jennifer Keefe, their 23rd Utz Quality Foods’ Tom and Bekki Dempsey, their 31st; Star Sales & Marketing/Pro-Star’s Randy and Debi Holland, their33rd; Quaker Maid Meats’ Tom and Janine Robinson, their 11th; Coca-Cola Refreshments’ Cyndi and Clyde’s Restaurants’ Bill Ireland, their 8th.

A leader in spices, Maryland based McCormick & Company, recently cut its energy bill to zero at its 369,000 square foot warehouse in Belcamp, MD. The warehouse had an “eye-popping” power bill because of 3,300 light fixtures and a refrigerated storage area big enough to drive forklifts in and out. But last year, the 8 1/3-acre Harford County warehouse has generated more power than it has consumed, making it the first “net-zero-energy” building in Maryland and one of a small but growing number nationwide.

McCormick first overhauled the building’s lighting and air-handling systems, then installed 7,500 solar panels on the vast rooftop, which generate enough power to offset the electricity the warehouse uses at night and on cloudy days.

“On bright sunny days, our meter’s spinning backward,” said Jeff Blankman, McCormick’s sustainable manufacturing manager. “and at night, we’re buying power from the grid.”

Net-zero buildings like McCormick’s warehouse are part of a broader movement to get homeowners and owners of commercial structures to squeeze the waste out of their energy consumption for economic and environmental reasons.

Two Weis Markets recently received a “silver” certificate form the Environmental Protection Agency’s GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Partnership for meeting tough benchmarks on cutting refrigerant emissions that harm the Earth’s protective ozone layer and contribute to global warming.

The 62,000-square-foot stores, located in Forks Township, near Easton, PA., and in Bellefonte, near State College, contain a new, environmentally efficient design, reducing their refrigerant charges by more than 50 percent.

“We achieved these results by installing more efficient refrigeration systems and cases throughout these stores and then carefully monitoring them,” said Kevin Small, Weis Markets vice president, store construction and development. “We are grateful to be recognized as an EPA partner. We will continue to invest in programs and systems that help us reduce our overall environmental impact throughout our store base.”

To achieve silver certification, a store must reduce the size of its refrigerant charge by as least 50 percent from the industry average; reduce annual refrigerant emissions to 15 percent or less of total store capacity; test refrigeration systems for adherence to GreenChill’s leak tightness and guidelines; and use refrigerants that do not damage the Earth’s protective ozone layer.

Regional supermarket chains with an emphasis on customer service dominated the 2012

Consumer Reports list of shoppers’ favorite food retailers, as reported in the May issue of the magazine.

Wegmans Food Markets was the top-rated supermarket in the survey, which polled more than 24,000 consumers who are subscribers to the magazine.

Wegmans was followed in the top 10 by, in order: Trader Joe’s, Publix Super Markets, Fareway Stores, Costco, Harris Teeter, Demoulas Market Basket, Raley’s, Hy-Vee and Stater Bros. All but Costco were given the highest possible scores in the service category, which was defined as employee courtesy and checkout speed. All but Costco and Trader Joe’s are regional operators.

The highest complaint shoppers had overall about their supermarket was that there were not enough open checkouts (cited by 27 percent of shoppers), followed by congested or cluttered aisles and out-of-stocks on advertised specials.

One third of the shoppers surveyed said they had stopped shopping at a nearby food retailer. Of those, 43 percent cited lower prices elsewhere; 25 percent cited poor selection, long lines or poor food quality; 17 percent cited employee rudeness; and 14 percent cited crowds.

The food industry in the Mid-Atlantic was saddened by the death of Anthony S. “Tony” D’Anna, retired Mars Super Markets executive and World War II veteran, who passed away from complications of a stroke at Symphony Manor assisted-living facility in Roland Park. The long time Timonium, MD resident was 85.

Tony was a Calvert Hall College High School graduate, class of 1944. He enlisted in the Army and served in Europe with the 63rd Infantry Division. His decorations included a Bronze Star for exemplary military service.

In 1943, Tony’s brother, Joseph D’Anna, established the first Mars Supermarket on Old Eastern Avenue in Essex. The store was named for the Mars flying boat, which was built during World War II on Old Eastern Avenue. Joseph D’Anna opened a second store in 1945 on Eastern Avenue and he was joined by two other brothers, Carmen and Angelo.

They closed the two Essex stores and opened another supermarket in Dundalk in 1946. Joseph D’Anna sold his interest in the business to his two brothers.

Tony D’Anna, who was the youngest of seven bothers, went to work as a grocery and produce clerk for his brothers in 1949. He was elected to the board in 1953, and was made a partner two years later.

In 1963 he moved to the store’s executive offices on Holabird Avenue, where he rose to vice president and secretary. At his retirement in 1997, he was the company’s chief purchasing agent.

Tony leaves his son, Gino D’Anna, a sister, Concetta T. D’Anna of Dundalk, and four grandchildren.

We are also saddened to report the death of former chairman and director of Pet Products International, a subsidiary of Ralston Purina Co., Franklin W. Krum. Prior to joining Ralston Purina, Frank served as president of the Golden Products Division of Ralston, and before that president and chief executive officer of Golden Cat Company, and president and CEO of ALPO Petfoods. Frank was loved and respected by everyone who worked with or for him. He was truly the executive’s executive and a person who cared deeply for everyone who worked with and for him.

Congratulations to Harry “Chip” O’Hare Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of JOH, on being named as Person of the Year by the Massachusetts Food Association. We knew Chip from our Boston days and many of the “old time brokers” will remember his father, Harry O’Hare, who was the founder of Johnson,O’Hare Food Brokers.

Our sincere sympathies go out to the family of Murray Lender, Lender’s Bagels, who passed away last month. He was 81. Murray was a good friend of this newspaper and very supportive of our efforts in the mid-Atlantic.

Birthday wishes go out this month to: Safeway’s (retired) Roger Herding; Acosta Fresh Foods’ Joe Barrie and Ted Kopp; Dietz & Watson’s Rich Wright; Magruder’s Mark Polsky; Metromedia’s David Finkelstein; Southeastern Mills Leon Gleaves; and to An Poitin Stil’s – America’s Best Irish Pub – Dorsey Baldwin.

The National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA) will hold its 20th annual executive conference April 16-18 at the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel & Conference in Tempe, AZ.The conference offers the most recent information on industry and consumer trends, with an impressive line up of speakers. This year’s conference includes two retail keynote presentations by Rod Antolock, executive VP of Harris Teeter, and J.K. Symancyk, COO of Meijer.

The conference kicks off with the Greater Penguin Open golf tournament and the NFRA fishing tournament.

The speaker presentations address the current state of the industry, the value of frozen and refrigerated shoppers, advantages of advancing technology and where our future is headed. The conference closes with a final informational session reflecting on topics addressed throughout the conference. With attendance limited to 150 delegates, it truly is a great opportunity to network and connect with trading partners.

The first retailer keynote by Antolock will open the Tuesday morning session will spotlight the current economic profile of the food industry and where it is headed in the future.

Ken Harris, CEO of Kantar Retail, will touch on the macro-trends affecting shopper behavior and also focuses on the importance of appealing to those valuable shoppers. Steve Horowitz, CTO of Coupons.com, Inc., will discuss the changing digital landscape and how consumers are embracing it.

Todd Hale, senior VP of consumer and shopper insights at The Nielsen Company concludes the morning sessions with a presentation on the findings from the NFRA/Nielsen State of the Industry Report on Frozen and Refrigerated Foods, with a focus on the current U.S. economic recovery, sales trends in the industry, the need to evolve due to population growth and predictions for the future of retailing.

Tuesday’s afternoon sessions start with a second retailer keynote followed by a presentation on the best practices in social media from manufacturer and retailer perspectives, using real world examples and a Q&A session to give attendees better insight into the social media networking world.

NFRA is a non profit trade association representing all segments of the frozen and refrigerated foods industry. Headquartered inHarrisburg,PA, NFRA is the sponsor of March National Frozen Food month, June Dairy Month, June/July Ice Cream and Novelties promotion, and October Cool Food for Kids educational outreach program. NFRA holds the annual National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Convention in October.

The American Meat Institute (AMI), Food Marketing Institute (FMI), United Fresh Produce Association (United Fresh) and National Association of State Departments of Agriculture are gearing up for the largest food industry exposition of its kind. The four shows will be co-located in Dallas in April and May for one event featuring 1,200 exhibitors filling one million square feet of the latest food technology and trends on display. More than 25,000 food industry decision-makers are expected to attend the expo, which will offer engaging keynote speakers and up-to-the-minute educational

sessions. (Sounds like a fantastic expo but who will be left home to tend to the store?)

Our sincere sympathy is extended to the family of Kevin G. Branigan, 52, ofBensalem,PA , a food broker who died in February of leukemia.

Growing up inRhawnhurst,PAKevin huckstered produce from a truck with his older brother for a local market. After graduating from Holy Ghost Preparatory School in 1977, he worked for two food brokers while attendingSt. Joseph’s University. In 1984 he earned a bachelor’s degree in food marketing, and in l989, he founded his own food brokerage business, Master Onion Sales, dealing in produce and specializing in onions. For 26 seasons, he sold Christmas trees at the corner ofCottman AvenueandState RoadinNortheast Philadelphia. The trees inspired a Mural Arts Program painting of a forest on a building adjacent to the lot.

Donations may be made to the Kevin G. Branigan Children’s Trust, Morgan Stanley Smith,650 S. Exeter St., Suite 1100,Baltimore,MD21202.

Our good friend Adam Borden, chairman of the board of Marylanders for Better Beer & Wine Laws, recently sent us some very interesting statistics.

Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot, recently published the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Annual Report. TheMaryland wine industry trumpeted and 11.6 percent growth in wine sold in 2011,as reported by Baynet.com..

Here are some interesting statistics from that report:

The state ofMarylandcollected $5.6 million in excise taxes on 14.1 million gallons of wine sold in FY2011. To put that number in perspective, Marylanders consumed 10.3 million gallons of distilled spirits and a whopping 99.1 million gallons of beer.

Marylanders drank on average 1.8 gallons each of distilled spirits, 2.5 gallons of wine and over 17 gallons of beer. (I think this writer contributed a little to those totals.)

Montgomery,BaltimoreandAnneArundelCountieswere the three largest wine consuming jurisdictions in 2011 while citizens of Baltimore andPrince George’s Counties drank the most beer and booze.WorcesterCountyhas the most liquor outlets per resident at 174 citizens per outlet whilePrince George’s County has only one per 1,454 citizens. (How it is possible thatPrince George’s consumers drink so much with so few liquor outlets?)

There were only 19 total license violations statewide for serving an intoxicated person, 13 of which took place inMontgomeryCounty.

Congratulations to Chris Ford of Baltimore restaurant, Wit & Wisdom, on being named “People’s Best New Pastry Chef,” a national award chosen by readers of Food & Wine Magazine. Ford is a graduate of theOrlandoCulinaryAcademy in 2005 and has worked at Trummer’s On Main inClifton,VA., where he was named one of StarChef.com’s “Rising Stars” in the DC Area, and more recently at Rogue 24 inWashington. Some of his items on the menu at Wit & Wisdom are: a warm pear tart withBartlett pear and brown sugar ice cream; a maple custard with orange toffee, almonds and bourbon; a Meyer lemon parfait; and his signature item, the Baltimore Bar, a play on the Baby Ruth, with peanuts, pretzel and chocolate. Wit and Wisdom is located in the Four Seasons Hotel at200 International Drive in the Four Seasons Baltimore Hotel.

If you’re a Marylander then you have already discovered Mr. Charles Market located in Owings Mills. For those who have not found it, you owe it to yourself to make a visit.

Mr. Charles Market & Catering is owned by its executive chef, Stuart Denrich. It is a specialty caterer and gourmet shop offering wine, liquor, beer, gourmet prepared comfort foods, personal chef services, specialty foods and gifts. They provide customers with exceptional service, high quality products and convenience. At any time one can find foods with Asian, Caribbean,Mediterranean and European influences and of course, American comfort foods.

Mr. Charles Market is located at12147 Park Heights Avenuein Owings Mills, MD. It is worth a visit and they are open seven days a week.

Retail food stores Safeway, Wegmans, Whole Foods and two general retailers who carry groceries, Costco and Target, along with Starbucks and Pepsico have been named to 2012’s World’s Most Ethical (WME) companies list as ranked by Ethisphere Institute. Ethisphere Institute is a leading international think-tank dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption and sustainability.

The Mid-Atlantic region of the Network of Executive Women will be holding its Spring/Summer Networking event on May 2, 2012. Exact details about the event have not yet been announced, but keep an eye on www.newonline.org for details as we near the event.

The mission of the Network of Executive Women is to attract and advance women in the consumer products and retail industry through education, leadership and business development. The Mid-Atlantic Region has a very active group. Nationally there are more than 5,000 CPG/retail executives who are network members

This writer and the entire food industry lost one of its nicest people last month with the death of Edward C. Edwards. Ted, as he was known to all in the trade, was 87 years old and had worked as a food broker since 1954 right up until his death..

Ted started in the food brokerage business in New Englandin 1954 as Ted Edwards & Company. The company grew to become one of the largest in New Englandand was eventually sold.  He and his wife Sara, who worked with him in the business, retired to Phoenix, AZ where he and Sara continued with Edwards and Company. Their daughter Sally Cushman is now CEO of the company. Our sincere sympathy goes out to the entire Edwards family.

Birthday wishes go out this month to: Lee Chadwick, mother of  Lancaster Food’s Jerry Chadwick; my son Rick Bestany, Allegian Systems, and son-in-law, Bill Ireland, Clyde’s Restaurant Group.

Celebrating an anniversary are Jeremy and Helen Diamond (Food-A-Rama) their ninth.

We start this month with congratulations to one of the nicest (and smartest) men ever to work in the Mid-Atlantic food industry, Jim Donald, who was recently named CEO of Extended Stay Hotels. To those who are too young to know Jim, he served as president of Safeway’s Eastern Division from 1994 to 1996. He joined Safeway with a very impressive record from Wal-Mart, where he had grown the grocery division from six stores to 146 in only three years.

Congratulations also to Buzz Beler, owner and operator of the Prime Rib Restaurants inBaltimore,Washington andPhiladelphia, which recently announced that they have signed a lease to occupy q 10,000 square foot restaurant at the Maryland Live! Casino, the new $500 million gaming, retail and entertainment destination being developed by The Cordish Companies in Anne Arundel County, MD.

As many of our readers know, the Prime Rib was first opened in Baltimorein 1965 by brothers Nick and Buzz Beler to evoke the supper clubs of 1940sManhattan – complete with a piano bar. Today all three restaurants earn top steakhouse rankings by Zagat for their respective cities.

At the new venue, The Prime Rib joins a lineup of restaurant brands that includes Chef Bobby Flay‘s Bobby’sBurgerPalace, The Cheesecake Factory and Phillips Seafood.

If you’ve ever been to any of the Prime Ribs, you probably rank them to be three of the finest steak houses in the country.

Maryland Live, with 4,750 slot machines and electronic table games, is scheduled to open in June 2012, pending approval from the Maryland State Lottery Agency.

For the second year, AholdUSAhas been named to DiversityBusiness.com’s “Top 50 Organizations for Multicultural Business Opportunities,” moving up five spots from last year to rank 42 in theUnited States. AholdUSAwill be honored at a special awards ceremony at DiversityBusiness.com’s 12th annual Multicultural Business Conference, April 25-27 inMashantucket,CT.

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, 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.

In making the announcement, Mrs. Obama said, “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. Goya is utilizing their incredible reach into communities across the country to get this helpful information to the hand of parents. 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-produces materials through local churches, food pantries, community health workers networks, registered dietitians, and schools.

Goya Foods will collaborate with Let’s Move! and USDA by providing Goya-produced brochure featuring a series of recipes that meet the Dietary Guidelines that MiPlato and ten tips for healthy eating. The Goya sales force will offer these brochures to 32,000 supermarkets to distribute in their communities.

Congratulations to Chip O’Hare, JOH, on being named person of the year by the Massachusetts Food Association.

Congratulations to Bozzuto’s, Inc. on being named by IGA (Independent Grocers Association) as the 2012USALicensedDistributionCenter of the Year. Bozzuto’s officials received the IGA President’s Cup at the 2012 IGA Global Rally Awards of Excellence Banquet at the Mirage Hotel inLas Vegas last month.

This is the seventh time Bozzuto’s has received the award since its inception in 1973. The award is presented annually to the IGA USA Licensed Distribution Center (LDC) of the Year, in honor of the company’s extraordinary effort in support of its IGA retailers and the IGA Brand.

Despite a sluggish recovery by the nation’s economy, the restaurant industry is projected to expand in 2012, according to the National Restaurant Association. Total restaurant industry sales are expected to reach a record high of $632 billion in 2012, a 3.5 percent increase over 2011. Overall restaurant industry employment will reach 12.9 million in 2012, representing 10 percent of the totalU.S.workforce. The restaurant industry represents 10 percent of the totalU.S.workforce.

On a personal note, congratulations to my grandson, RJ Bestany, on receiving a CERTIFICATE OF

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT for LEADERSHIP fromTrinitySchoolinIlchester,MD, where he is a fourth grader.

And don’t forget, March 17th^, a day to hoist a Guinness or something stronger in the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day! A visit to Clyde’s of Columbia might be in order as they offer some green beer all day for the celebration! It’s an event Food World usually covers!

 Birthday wishes go out this month to: Barbara Wolf, Acosta Sales & Marketing; Tom Bleakley, Star Sales and Marketing; Ken Gore, K.B. Gore & Co.; John Weiland, husband of Best-Met’s Nina Weiland, retired; and Denis McCrossan, Crystal Geyser Water.

Chestertown on Maryland’s beautiful Eastern Shore has implemented an outright ban on the use of plastic shopping bags by large retailers effective January 19. The ban was passed by the town’s city council last March. Chestertown joins other jurisdictions around the country that have recently passed bans on single-use plastic bags, including: Rye, NY, which passed an ordinance banning the bags last December; Westport, CT, which banned plastic bags at checkout in 2008; Brownsville, TX; and Telluride, CO. Two of Chestertown’s main food retailers – Acme and Fresh and Green’s- both switched completely to paper bags in early January.

For the second year, Ahold USA has been named to DiversityBusiness.com’s “Top 50 Organizations for Multicultural Business Opportunities,” moving up five spots from last year to rank 42 in the United States. Ahold USA will be honored at a special awards ceremony at DiversityBusiness.com’s 12th annual Multicultural Business Conference, which will be held April 25-27 in Mashantucket, CT.

DiversityBusiness.com asked more than 1.2 million businesses to answer 10 questions about diversity in the marketplace. Their answers were based on factors such as volume, consistency and quality business opportunities to women and minority-owned companies.

“Diversity is an important part of our business and we regularly work with women and minority-owned businesses to develop supplier opportunities for the mutual success of both organizations,” said Jeff Martin, executive vice president of merchandising and marketing for Ahold USA. “It’s quite an accomplishment to be recognized by DiversityBusiness.com and we look forward to greater success this year as we explore more opportunities.”

For the past five years, Ahold USA and its supermarket divisions have hosted a supplier diversity/regional and small business trade show with a goal of strengthening the connection between agricultural, minority and retail industries. Participants have an opportunity to meet with Ahold USA’s procurement teams to discuss future business opportunities with the company.

Senior leaders from some of the nation’s largest CPG/retail companies will offer their insights on talent management, multicultural consumers and the benefits of working with diverse suppliers during three educational super sessions at the Network of Executive Women’s CPG Retail Diversity Forum, the industry’s largest diversity and inclusion event. The CPG Retail Diversity Forum will take place March 6-8, 2012, in Dallas.

Among those sharing their experiences will be: Sue Johnson, global head of gender balance and diversity for Nestle Group; Linda Singh, senior marketing director, fragrances for Coty Inc.; Ernest Freeman, senior manager, supplier diversity for PepsiCo; and Gleatha Glispie, director of supplier diversity for Walgreen Company.

The NEW Diversity Forum 2012 will open with a dinner dialogue featuring: Tom Greco, president of Frito-Lay North America; Grant LaMontagne, senior vice president, chief customer officer for The Clorox Company; Sue Dodsworth, chief diversity officer for Kimberly-Clark Corporation; and Debra Sandler, chief consumer officer for Mars Chocolate NA.

The program also includes special remarks from: Sharon Orlopp, global chief diversity officer for Wal-Mart Stores Inc.; Anthony Carter, global diversity officer for Johnson & Johnson; and Cheryl Pearson-McNeil, senior vice president, public affairs and government relations for The Nielsen Company.

The National Grocers Association (NGA) announced that it is partnering with the University of Southern California (USC) Marshall School of Business and Unilever to expand its highly regarded executive leadership development program, which is currently offered at Cornell University through funding provided by PepsiCo, Inc. The expansion will now include two programs offered at Cornell and USC, allowing NGA to increase annual participation from 36 executives to more than 50.

More than 250 NGA member executives representing senior leadership from more than 100 independent retailers and wholesalers have graduated from the Cornell program since its inception. PepsiCo Inc. sponsors the Cornell program through funding support and Unilever will provide funding to support the new USC program.

The next executive leadership development program will be held June 3-7, 2012 at Cornell in Ithaca, NY and June 10-4, 2012 at USC in Los Angeles.

Baltimore based Bradmer Foods, one of the country’s only food and beverage focused investment firms, has announced an equity investment in Chesapeake Bay Roasting Company (CBRC), a leading Mid-Atlantic coffee roaster based in Crofton, MD. In addition to the investment, Adam Borden, managing director of Bradmer Foods, joined the executive team of CBRC as chief operating officer.

Chesapeake Bay Roasting Company was established in January 2002 and has grown to supply almost 300 foodservice clients and more than 100 grocery and specialty retail stores including Whole Foods, Safeway, Wegmans, Giant Food, Fresh Markets, MOMs Organic Markets, Graul’s and select independent markets. Committed to organic and “green” processes, CBRC established the H2O Initiative, pledging two percent of sales to support community organizations and groups that make a measurable impact on the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. For more information, visit www.cbrccoffee.com.

Bradmer Foods is a venture capital and private equity firm based in Baltimore that invests exclusively in emerging specialty food and beverage businesses. For more information on Bradmer Foods, visit www.bradmerfoods.com.

Several foodservice brokers announced that they have joined forces with retail broker Advantage Sales and Marketing to create a new company, Advantage Waypoint, LLC, effective January 1, 2012. Advantage Waypoint, LLC will run as an independent company focused on delivering value to the foodservice industry. The aligned companies are: Innovative Concept Group, Dougherty Brokerage Company, APEX Foodservice Group, Benchmark Sales, FSI Southwest, Midwest Venture Partners (MVP), Food Sales West, Mascari & Associates, Inter-Mark Sales, and Advantage Sales and Marketing.

Congratulations to Wegmans Food Markets, Rochester, NY, for making Fortune Magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list. This marks the 15th year that Wegmans has made the list. They were ranked fourth this year.

Three other food retailers made the list: Whole Foods, Austin TX, was ranked 32nd; QuikTrip, a convenience chain in Tulsa, OK, ranked 66th; and Publix Super Markets, Lakeland, FL, came in at number 78.

Last month, John Shield’s Baltimore based Gertrude’s Restaurant held its 9th Annual Krautfest. As most of our readers know, Shields is nationally known as host of the PBS television show, Coastal Cooking. He is also the author of numerous cook books, including “Coastal Cooking with John Shields” and “Chesapeake Bay Cooking with John Shields.” If you’ve never been to his Krautfest, you should put it on your “to do” list for next year. It’s a great time and the food served is mostly local items like Binkerts Knockwurst and Bratwurst, Ostroweski’s Kielbasa, and a real “oompa” band which plays a lot of polkas. You will also eat some of the best beer-braised sauerkraut along with some super desserts featuring such items as double chocolate sauerkraut cake and Krauty Berger Cookie Cheesecake. The Krautfest ticket includes all food, soft beverages, musical entertainment and service. It’s a fun evening and one the whole family can enjoy.

Congratulations to Dan Fazio, account executive for headquarter sales-non foods division of JOH Food Brokers, who is the recipient of the prestigious Harry O’Hare Award for 2011. This award is presented yearly to “…the person who most personifies the values and qualities that marked the life and career of Harry O’Hare. Hard work, integrity, passion, a positive attitude and team spirit are all part of Mr. O’Hare’s personal and professional legacy. Dan, a JOH employee since 1997, exemplifies these attributes in his role as an account executive. He strives for perfection and is responsive to the need of others, even if it means interrupting his own work or committing himself to late nights to meet the objective,” said Kevin Tassinari, executive vice president of non foods for JOH.

Mark your calendars for April 30-May 3 for FMI 2012, the food industry’s leadership event showcasing emerging opportunities, delivering consumer insights through thought provoking research and education and fostering industry collaboration and community. This is your opportunity to see the food industry’s showcase of products and services and to engage with retailers and wholesalers from around the globe. The event will be held at the Dallas Convention Center.

Our sincere sympathy is extended to Andy Lansman (A&L Foods) on the death of his father Irving W. Lansman. A&L Foods was established in 1938 and Irving purchased the company in 1952. The company serves the major metropolitan areas on the East Coast with dry, frozen and refrigerated retail and institutional specialty groceries. Servicing national and regional chain stores, large institutional accounts, independent grocers, specialty/gourmet stores, delis, restaurants, nursing homes, hospitals and schools, A&L Foods is a unique, specialty food distributor. They are the only distributor that can provide any type of customer with all of its kosher food needs; whether it is a chain store requiring a complete kosher foods program, or a deli seeking the finest smoked salmon.

Birthday wishes go out to: Frank Rich (International Food and Beverage); John Gates (Lancaster Foods); Kathy Carter (DBC Sales); Linda Hughes (Hughes Sales); Glenn Davis (Safeway); Mike Keba (Food Trade News); Pat and Nancy McBride (Advantage Sales and Marketing); Harriet Finkelstein, Stuart Sobotnick and Ed Hopkins (Metromedia); Kathy Chandler Poteet (Acosta); and Mike Wilson (Master Food and Beverage Consultants).

Congratulations to Saint Joseph’s University Haub School of Business (which houses the Academy of Food Marketing) where several graduate programs have been included in the 2011 Eduniversal Ranking of the Best Masters and MBA Programs Worldwide.

The university’s master of science in human resource management degree was included among the top 200 programs; the master of science in business intelligence and the master of science in food marketing were included among the top 50 programs worldwide.

This is the first year for the Eduniversal Ranking, which was initiated with the support of the Eduniversal International Scientific Committee. Rankings are based on the following three main criteria: reputation of the program, salary of the first employment of graduates and satisfaction of students.

For more information about Haub School of Business graduate programs, visit www.sju.edu/academics/hsb/graduate.html.

Butterball, LLC, the nation’s largest turkey producer,  recently announced its support of The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) as the Gift-in-Kind (GIK) turkey provider through July 31, 2012. As a GIK supporter of the college, Butterball will donate turkeys for a one-year period to be utilized in the CIA’s top educational curriculum at its three United States campuses located in Hyde Park, NY; Saint Helena, CA; and San Antonio, TX.

Through the GIK program, students will receive the opportunity to cook with Butterball’s premium turkey products while learning about proper food safety practices and turkey preparation techniques in the CIA’s industry-leading curriculum.

For more than six decades, the CIA has been setting the standard in professional culinary education. The independent, not-for-profit college offers bachelor and associate degrees in culinary arts and baking and pastry arts and certificate programs in culinary arts, Latin cuisines, and wine and beverage studies. Currently enrolling more than 2,800 students from virtually every U.S. state and 30 countries in its degree programs, the CIA offers students a broad base of knowledge and skills to prepare them to be effective professionals and leaders in the food world. For more information, visit www.ciachef.edu.

At the most recent meeting of the Food Institutes board of trustees, Dean Erstad, senior vice president-sales for Seneca Foods Corp., was unanimously elected chairman of the 83-year old trade association as his predecessor, Donna George, president and chief operating officer of Dr. Schar USA Inc. concludes her service and becomes past chair of the Institute.

Michael Sansolo of Sansolo Solutions was elected vice chairman, followed by Doug Fritsch, senior vice president retail and business development of IGA USA who was elected treasurer of the association.

Other members of the board include: Bill Bishop, Willard Bishop; Susan T. Borra, Food Marketing Institute; Paula K. Correy, Western Region, Hy-Vee, Inc. Frank DiPasquale, School Nutrition Association; Jamie Gronowski, Acosta; Peter Lavoy, formerly with Foodtown; C. Winston (Win) Taylor, Saint Joseph’s University; and Brian Todd, The Food Institute.

The Food Institute is a non-profit, membership-based information and reporting association, founded in 1928. Membership includes more than 2,000 companies spanning the entire food distribution system.

Eva Kohn of Valassis, Inc. and Subriana Peirce of Supervalu are co-chairing the Network of Executive Women CPG Retail Diversity Forum 2012, which will be held March 6-8, 2012, in Dallas. The NEW Diversity Forum, formerly the Multicultural Workforce Conference, is the CPG/retail industry’s leading diversity and inclusion event.

“Eva Kohn and Subriana Pierce are recognized by their industry peers as thought leaders on the subject of workplace diversity and its bottom-line benefits,” said NEW President and CEO Joan Toth. “They both bring significant real-life experience to the table, which has enhanced the NEW Diversity Forum’s program, making the event relevant and valuable for women and men across CPG/retail functions.”

As senior vice president, strategic sales for Valassis Inc., Kohn is responsible for more than $1 billion in revenue and oversees the firm’s largest retail clients. Pierce serves as senior vice president, sales and merchandising, for Albertsons Southern California Division, leading a team of more than 50 people responsible for developing sales and merchandising strategies and influencing the activities of more than 22,000 associates in 258 stores throughout Southern California and Las Vegas.

Kohn began her career at Valassis as a territorial sales representative for the Baltimore market in May 1984 and has held a number of positions of increasing responsibility. Now a member of Valassis’ senior leadership, Kohn is known for her strong client relationships; strategic solutions; leadership, most notably as a mentor; and commitment to the company’s diversity initiatives.

Prior to joining Supervalu, Pierce spent more than 10 years in sales and marketing with Frito-Lay, including serving as director of marketing for the snack maker. In 2005, she received a U.S. Patent for one of her shelving designs. Early in her career at PepsiCo, Pierce served as the executive sponsor for the African American resource group. Later, she became a founding member and chairperson of the PepsiCo Women of Color organization.

Sharon Orlopp, global chief diversity officer and senior vice president, corporate people, for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., will share her business insights as the closing keynote speaker at the CPG Retail Diversity Forum. As global CDO for the world’s largest retailer, Orlopp is responsible for advancing a diverse workforce with 2.1 million associates worldwide.

The NEW Diversity Forum 2012 will open with Tom Grecco, president of Frito-Lay North America, and Grant LaMontagne, senior vice president, chief customer officer, The Clorox Company, sharing their thoughts on diversity and the role it plays in their strategies. For more information on the NEW Diversity Forum visit www.newonline.org/news .

More than 5,000 food and distributing retailers are expected to be in attendance. In 2010, 82 percent of the buyers attending ranked the value of the show “Good to Excellent.”

If you haven’t registered yet for the FMI 2012 and the US Food Showcase in Dallas, Texas April 30 – May 3, visit www.fmi.org.

Did you know the Maryland Food Bank has food pantries in more than 124 schools in the state and is planning on creating more? The school pantry program provides food to families of children at risk for hunger.

Thanks to a recent $15,000 grant from the Perdue Foundation, the Maryland Food Bank will be able to serve even more at-risk students. The Perdue grant will be used to create and expand programs in Worcester County, MD. According to statistics from Feeding America, Worcester County has a 14.7 percent food-insecurity rate, the second highest food-insecurity rate in the state.

The Maryland Food Bank opened in August of 2010 its culinary training program, FoodWorks. To date, more than 30 graduates have completed the 12-week program, learning cooking techniques, menu planning, proper use of commercial kitchen equipment and certification in ServSafe Food Safety Training Program

The program utilizes rescued and donated food to prepare healthy meals to the food insecure in Maryland. These meals are offered on the organization’s daily menu, from which soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters and feeding programs may order.

Graduates have been employed by institutions such as Aramark, Olive Garden, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Stony River Steakhouse and Turf Valley Resort.

For more information on the food bank and its many programs, visit [email protected].

We recently learned of the death of Jay Scott Thompson, a former Baltimore- based food broker.  Mr. Thompson was born in Baltimore and after graduating from Boys’ Latin School in 1974, he attended Roanoke College and the University of Maryland, College Park.

During his college years, he went to work for the family business, W. H. Bryan Co. Food Brokers, delivering food ingredients to local businesses and eventually advanced to a sales position. His territory extended from Virginia to New York.

He later worked for the Frank A. Serio Co. and eventually formed his own business J.S.T. Enterprises, which sold advertising and marketing specialties to the printing industry.

Surviving are a son, Jay Scott Thompson Jr. of Ocean Pines; three daughters, Leigh Anne Thompson of Westminster, Cori Rose Thompson of Ocean Pines and Toni Phillips of Los Angeles; and a grandson.

Happy Birthday wishes go out this month to Randy Holland, Star Sales & Marketing; Carl Jablonski, formerly of Acme and Shaws Supermarkets; Jim Therian, Masiello Group Realty; and Kathleen Kelly, sister of Food World and Food Trade News editor Terri Maloney.

Anniversary wishes go out this to: Policy Solutions Barry and Olga Scher, their eighth.

From all of us at Best-Met Publishing—Food World, Food Trade News and the Mid–Atlantic Grocery Industry Directory—may you and yours enjoy a very healthy, happy and prosperous 2012 and remember to keep reading Food World and Food Trade News and keep buying those ads!

You read about the ninth class to be inducted into the Maryland Food Industry Hall of Fame last month in this paper, but since this column had already gone to press, we will mention it again. It’s an honor to be in the Hall of Fame, so it bears mentioning again.

Five notables from the Mid-Atlantic were inducted into the 2011 Hall of Fame class. They are: Bruce Bereano, Maryland lobbyist; Bob Burris (posthumously), Burris Retail Logistics; William Hupfeldt (posthumously), Esskay; Roy Marks, Shoppers/Food-A-Rama; and Food World’s very own Jeff Metzger.

A wonderful ceremony was held at Martin’s West for the event. In case you missed it, you should make it a point to attend next year. It brings many of the “old timers” together with the current food industry people. It’s a terrific event and it’s a lot of fun to mingle with both the “old” and the “new.” And as in past years, it was emceed by the publisher of this paper, Jeff Metzger.

Here’s some news that shows just how much the food industry has changed over the years. The Food Marketing Institute (FMI), the American Meat Institute (AMI) and the United Fresh Produce Association (UFPA) today announced the co-location of their premier trade shows – the FMI Exhibit and Education Event, the AMI International Meat Poultry and Seafood Convention and Exposition, and United Fresh – beginning in 2012 at the Dallas Convention Center in Dallas, Texas.

The AMI Expo will be held April 30-May 3, 2012, and the FMI Exhibit and Education Event and United Fresh will be held May 1-3, 2012.

The three shows will offer their own exhibit halls, as well as unique education programming for their own attendees. The new partners will also explore potential joint programming and networking events.

The American Meat Institute (AMI) represents the interests of packers and processors of beef, pork, lamb, veal and turkey products and their suppliers throughout North America. Together, AMI’s members produce 95 percent of the beef, pork, lamb and veal products and 70 percent of the turkey products in the United States.

United Fresh Produce Association (UFPA) in the pre-eminent trade association for the produce industry in managing critical public policy issues; shaping legislative and regulatory action; providing scientific and technical leadership in food safety, quality assurance, nutrition and health; and developing education programs and business opportunities for members to better meet consumer needs for increased consumption of fresh produce. UFPA was founded in 1904.

FMI’s retail membership is composed of large multi-store chains, regional firms and independent supermarkets. Its international membership includes 200 companies from more than 50 countries. FMI’s associate members include the supplier partners of its retail and wholesale members.

The FMI Education and Exhibit Event is the largest and most comprehensive food industry conference and exposition in North America, attracting approximately 450 exhibitors and more than 10,000 attendees from close to 100 countries.

The AMI Expo attracts all levels of the meat and poultry industry including executives, plant managers, purchasing agents, engineers, researchers and operations managers.

 The United Fresh show will attract 300 exhibitors and 5,000 attendees.

We also understand that the National Grocers Association (NGA) will be co-locating its 2012 IGA Global Rally with the N.G.A. Show in Las Vegas this year February, 12-15, 2012.

For years, NGA has been the only industry association devoted exclusively to the needs of the independent sector. If you are an independent grocer or in any way connected to the grocery industry, the show provides you with an unparalleled opportunity to network, learn, and advance your company. You will come away with new ideas, perspectives, and solutions to tackle your most challenging business issues.

These two great programs are a wonderful opportunity to connect with even more of the industry’s best independent retailers, wholesalers and dedicated trading partners. Visit www.iga.com to learn more and register.

The National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA) elected its officers and members of the board of directors 2011-2012 at its 67th annual membership meeting and luncheon held in October in Orlando, FL.

John Larsen, VP dairy and refrigerated, Safeway, Inc. was elected chairman of the board. Larsen has served on the board since 2006. He served as vice chairman-refrigerated from 2008-2009 and as chairman-elect in 2010. He is also a member of the Distinguished Order of Zerocrats.

Other officers sworn in at the Association’s 67th Annual Meeting were: Bob Branham, General Mills, chairman-elect; Scott Haws, Land O’Lakes, secretary; Ray Tarnowski, Philadelphia Warehouse & Cold Storage, treasurer; Scott Rouse, Tyson Foods, vice chairman-frozen; and David Welch, Winn-Dixie, vice chairman-refrigerated.

Newly elected to the board were: John Farmer, Global Dairy Products; Kathy Mondloch, Save Mart Supermarkets; Steve Ostrander, Crystal Farms; Sean Reid, Schwan’s Consumer Brands, North America, Inc.; Ron Schwennn, Roundy’s Inc.; Joy Sgro, Bozzuto’s; and Craig Sharer, Heinz U.S. Consumer Products.

Elected for a second term on the board were: John Arnold, Sargento Foods; David Davis, Welch’s Foods; David Epps, Sara Lee; Ken Gipple, Kraft Foods; Brian Haley, Burris Logistics; John Mastropaolo, Dannon Company, Inc.; William Mayo, Wakefern Food Corporation; Joseph Mrozek, Pinnacle Food Group, LLC; and Louise Yerian, Nestle U.S.A.

The Restaurant Association of Maryland announced the winners of the awards bestowed at the 57th Annual McCormick & Company Stars of the Industry Awards Gala. This annual gala is a spectacular event of industry recognition that brings together more than 600 of hospitality’s best and brightest to spotlight the industry’s influence and food service opportunities.

This year’s winners were: restaurateur – Billy Carder, BJ’s on the Water (Ocean City); chef – Brian Boston, The Milton Inn, (Sparks); favorite bar or tavern – Fish Tales (Ocean City); pastry chef –

Isaiah Billington (Baltimore); wine and beverage program – Victoria Gastro Pub (Columbia); favorite restaurant – B&O American Brasserie (Baltimore); favorite restaurant – Sunset Grille (Ocean City); green restaurant – The Crab Shanty (Ellicott City); allied member of the year – Payce Payroll represented by Brian Pfeifer; Brice & Shirley Phillips Lifetime Industry Achievement Award – Lawrence Wilhelm, (Friendly Farm Style Restaurant); Schellhase Award – William King III, The Crab Shanty; McCormick Cornerstone Award – Galaxy 66 Bar & Grille (Ocean City). Glory Days Grill (Gaithersburg), The Greene Turtle Sports Bar and Grille (Edgewater), Graul’s

Market & Cafe (Lutherville), Moxie Bakery & Cafe (Frederick);,Phillips Seafood (Baltimore) and Ri Ra Irish Pub (Bethesda).

Maryland Hospitality Hall of Honor inductees included – Brewer’s Alley Restaurant & Brewery (Frederick); Double T Diner (statewide); The Greene Turtle Sports Bar and Grille (statewide); the Grille at Harryman House (Reisterstown); and Schmankerl Stube Bavarian Restaurant (Hagerstown).

The Restaurant Association of Maryland (RAM) celebrates 75 years serving the restaurant and foodservice industry by maintaining core principles.

In 1927 a small group of Baltimore area restaurants met to deal with the challenges facing the economy and the foodservice industry. Today, RAM is a 2,000 member strong statewide trade association .

For more information of the Annual Industry Awards Galas or a complete list of nominees, please visit www.marylandrestaurants.com or contact Jennie Silver, manager of marketing and special events by calling 410-290-6800.

Anniversary wishes go out to Russ and Joan Reynolds, Supervalu, their 37th; Michael and Juli Finkelstein, Associated Services, their 28th; Todd and Amy Sibel, Hook-Me-Up Marketing, their 18th; Jerry and Ligia Chadwick, Guest Services, their 34th; Peter and Maisie Wall, friends of Food World, their 49th; and Dave and Fran McElroy, Food World’s New England correspondent, their!

All of us at Best-Met Publishing thank our readers and advertisers for making 2011 an exciting and very interesting year and for letting us be a part of this wonderful and crazy business. You are all wonderful and very generous people. A very happy, healthy and joyous holiday season to each and everyone of you. See you 2012!