Food Lion Unveils Additional Store Renovations in North Carolina

Food Lion has made a $77 million capital investment to fully renovate 47 of its locations in Greenville, Jacksonville and New Bern, N.C. The grocer will hold ribbon-cutting ceremonies at each of those stores on Aug. 2, where first 100 customers in line will receive a mystery gift card, free reusable shopping bag and trunk organizer.

Store enhancements include energy-efficient overhead LED lighting, refrigerated cases with doors and self-checkout lanes. The investment also includes an extensive new product assortment with a focus on healthy selections like organic, gluten-free and plant-based items, as well as affordable meal solutions that are ready-to-eat, ready-to-cook or ready-to-heat.

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“Food Lion has been a proud neighbor in the Greenville, Jacksonville and New Bern communities for 43 years,” said Meg Ham, president of Food Lion. “We’re excited to welcome our neighbors in these towns and cities into their fresh, new Food Lion. These remodels also reflect our ongoing commitment to invest in the growth and development of our associates so they can provide a shopping experience customers can count on.”

Continued Ham: “From a brand-new look and feel to more convenient grab-and-go items to make any meal easier, each store has made big changes with our customers in mind, so they can nourish their families affordably and make life a little easier.”

Earlier this year, Food Lion unveiled 30 remodeled stores in Wilmington, N.C., featuring a new, easier shopping experience for customers thanks to a capital investment exceeding $50 million.

In addition to the renovations, Food Lion has provided an update on Food Lion Feeds, its hunger-relief platform that has helped the grocer donate $150,000 to benefit East Carolina University and its Farm-to-Clinic initiative. The partnership includes the construction of a mobile teaching kitchen and food distribution unit designed to improve access to healthy food and support improved nutrition and health for uninsured, low-income diabetes patients in rural eastern North Carolina.

“The mission of East Carolina University’s Farm-to-Clinic aligns with Food Lion Feeds and we are thrilled to have the mobile teaching kitchen on the road this year to combat food insecurity and health disparities in rural, eastern North Carolina together,” said Lauren R. Sastre, Ph.D., assistant professor and Farm-to-Clinic program director, East Carolina University.

Additionally, Food Lion undertakes a food rescue program with Feeding America. In 2022, stores throughout Greenville, Jacksonville and New Bern donated more than 2.3 million pounds of food to the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina and Food Bank of the Albemarle.

Salisbury, N.C.-based Food Lion operates more than 1,100 stores with 82,000-plus associates. Its parent company, Ahold Delhaize USA, a division of Zaandam, Netherlands-based Ahold Delhaize, is No. 10 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.