News Briefs
Harvest Market Introduces Healthy-Food Incentives
Northern California independent grocer Harvest Market has become the first grocery store in the country to deliver healthy-food incentives straight to a customer’s EBT card. The food retailer began participating in the program in March.
The incentives go to participants in CalFresh, California’s federally funded food assistance benefits program, also known as SNAP, who earn matching dollars when they buy California-grown fruits and vegetables. So if a shopper buys $5 worth of local produce, they receive $5 on their EBT card.
Customers can earn up to $60 in rebates per month at the Harvest Market locations in Fort Bragg and Mendocino, Calif. SPUR (the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association), a nonprofit public policy organization, spearheaded the project.
These programs have been linked to increased consumption of fruits and vegetables, resulting in less food insecurity, improved public health, and increased business for the California agriculture industry.
“Right now, with inflation, a reduction in public assistance benefits, and pandemic benefits ending, people need help,” said Harvest Market VP Jennifer Bosma. “And they need help on eating fresher, healthier food. This program gets fresh produce into more homes and encourages people to eat healthier. They get more food for their EBT dollar, and it helps California farmers.”
The CalFresh pilot project will run through December 2023.
Family-owned Harvest Market operates three stores providing a unique blend of conventional, specialty, organic, domestic, international and local products. The indie also focuses on community support and sustainability practices.
Giant Eagle to Introduce New Circular Format
Giant Eagle Inc. is relaunching the in-home delivery of its printed weekly circular to Cleveland-area customers beginning Tuesday, April 18, with a reimagined two-page version of the circular slated to debut early next month.
The new circular will feature weekly savings for dozens of high-quality and seasonally relevant products from across the store, including popular national-brand items as well as a range of Giant Eagle-brand favorites. The new format will highlight the strongest promotions in print, while a simple scan of the displayed QR code will direct customers to Giant Eagle’s website, where they can view hundreds of other items that will be on sale each week.
“We are committed to putting our customers at the center of everything we do to ensure we provide what is most important to them, and what they want most right now is high-quality products at a good price,” said Brian Ferrier, SVP of merchandising at Giant Eagle. “Our new printed circular will showcase huge savings on some of our most popular items and will provide an opportunity for customers to discover hundreds of additional sale items by scanning the QR code that will be featured on the front page of every circular.”
Along with the new weekly circular, Giant Eagle shoppers can save considerably on food, fuel and prescription medication through the company’s loyalty platform, myPerks. Program members earn Perks on all qualifying purchases across Giant Eagle’s banners -- Market District, GetGo and Giant Eagle Pharmacy -- that can be redeemed for free groceries and fuel.
Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle operates more than 490 stores throughout western Pennsylvania, north central Ohio, northern West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana. The company is No. 36 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer's 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.
SpartanNash Hires VP for Merchandising Strategy
Food solutions company SpartanNash has brought on Arpen Shah in the role of VP, merchandising strategy and analytics. In addition to leading merchandising strategy and analytics for the overall merchandising business, Shah will be responsible for promotional planning, shelf technology, category management and merchandising data analytics.
Shah's most recent position was senior director, merchandising enablement at Essendant, and he also held roles at US Foods, United Stationers and Canon.
"Arpen is an astute and people-first merchandising executive who has a strong background in category management and analytics," said SpartanNash SVP, Chief Merchandising Officer Bennett Morgan. "His expertise and relentless innovative drive will accelerate our customer-led merchandising transformation."
Earlier this month, SpartanNash promoted David Sisk from SVP to EVP, chief customer officer. In his new role, Sisk oversees customer engagements for all national accounts, independent and chain grocers, e-commerce retailers, and the U.S. Defense Commissary Agency and military exchanges worldwide.
SpartanNash’s core businesses include distributing grocery products to independent and chain retailers, its corporate-owned retail stores, and U.S. military commissaries and exchanges, as well as fresh produce distribution and fresh food processing. No. 41 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company serves customer locations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Europe, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Honduras, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Djibouti, Korea and Japan. SpartanNash also operates 147 supermarkets and employs 17,500-plus associates.
SpartanNash Planting 20K Trees
Food solutions company SpartanNash has joined forces with sustainability solutions organization Ecodrive to plant 20,000 mangrove trees in Kenya to celebrate Earth Day on April 22. Mangroves capture and store millions of pounds of carbon dioxide in their lifetime. They also create a habitat for hundreds of organisms and protect shorelines from erosion and storm surges. For every 100 trees planted, one full workday is created for a villager in need.
Los Angeles-based Ecodrive uses on-the-ground monitoring, data verification and storage through the application of blockchain technology to improve transparency and trust in the tree-planting process. The process ensures that trees won’t be double-counted or misattributed, and allows Ecodrive to track overall survivability, measuring real climate impact over time.
In related news, HelloFresh-owned meal-kit provider Green Chef has partnered with One Tree Planted to plant a tree in northern Thailand for every new and returning customer who signs up to receive a Green Chef box of meal kits in April.
SpartanNash’s core businesses include distributing grocery products to independent and chain retailers, its corporate-owned retail stores, and U.S. military commissaries and exchanges, as well as fresh produce distribution and fresh food processing. No. 41 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of thetop food and consumables retailers in North America, the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company serves customer locations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Europe, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Honduras, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Djibouti, Korea and Japan. SpartanNash also operates 147 supermarkets and employs 17,500-plus associates. Berlin-based HelloFresh operates in 18 international markets and is No. 50 on The PG 100.
NJEDA Approves Food Desert Relief Tax Credit Program
The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) board has approved proposed rules for a $240 million Food Desert Relief Tax Credit Program, which will help address food access challenges by attracting and retaining new supermarkets in the 50 Food Desert Communities (FDCs) designated by the NJEDA last year. Additionally, the board approved the sale of up to $50 million of the $240 million in tax credits in 2023, the proceeds of which will fund future grant, loan and technical assistance programs under the Food Desert Relief Act (FDRA). These programs will help increase availability of nutritious foods and develop new approaches to alleviate food insecurity.
“Food insecurity is a widespread and longstanding issue that has been exacerbated by the pandemic, and New Jersey is taking innovative steps to ensure no resident goes hungry,” said Gov. Phil Murphy. “By expanding grocery options in an intentional manner, more families across our state’s food desert communities will be able to put affordable and healthy food on their tables. Fighting food insecurity fosters greater well-being for countless communities and families, advancing our vision for a truly stronger, fairer New Jersey economy.”
The Food Desert Relief Tax Credit program establishes two types of tax credits that encourage resiliency of supermarkets for a lasting impact on communities. Both are available to new and rehabilitated supermarkets within the areas designated as FDCs, which span all 21 New Jersey counties and are home to more than 1.5 million residents. The Financing Gap Tax Credit will provide up to 40% of a project’s costs for development of the first new supermarket located in any one FDC, and up to 20% for the second new supermarket. A complete overview of the rules and more information on the Food Desert Relief Tax Credit program can be found here.
Lidl Sets Grand Opening for Latest Virginia Store
Lidl is getting ready to lift the lid on its latest store in Virginia. The German grocer that regularly touts its low prices is set open a location at 14445 Chantilly Crossing Lane in the town of Chantilly, Va., on May 3.
The latest outpost is the 33rd Lidl in the state of Virginia. As it opens its doors in a new town, Lidl is planning a grand opening that includes giveaways, free samples and Lidl swag. The first 100 customers in line will receive store gift cards ranging from $5 to $100. The retailer is marking its entrance in the area by donating $1 to a local food bank for every shopper who signs up for the myLidl membership program.
[Read more: "Lidl Planning New Ground-Up Warehouse in Pennsylvania"]
Like other Lidl stores, this one will feature fresh produce, baked goods, grocery staples and, as the company puts it, “a rotating selection of non-food surprises and global flavors.” For digital consumers, Lidl also offers same-day home delivery through the third-party Shipt platform.
The store is hosting a sneak peek the night before the official opening. During an open house from 5 to 6 p.m. on May 2, interested consumers can check out the gleaming new store and learn more about the grocer.
The Chantilly Lidl will be open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
Neckarsulm, Germany-based Lidl operates around 11,550 stores and is active in 32 countries, employing more than 341,000 employees globally. The grocer runs about 170 stores in nine East Coast states. Lidl US is No. 89 on the PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.