FMI - OMEGA - West Virginia Oil Marketers & Grocers Association

There are more than 42,200 items in a grocery store (The Food Retailing Industry Speaks 2015). That’s 42,200 opportunities to have a mishap, and it only takes one issue to damage a company’s reputation. Food safety is the hallmark of grocers’ relationships with their customers. The nation’s food retailers do everything to maintain shopper trust. When it comes to food safety, the best protection is prevention, and that’s why food safety training and certification is so important.

Gelson’s Donna Tyndall, senior vice president of operations, and Tim Mahoney, senior director of operations, welcomed Cynthia Brazzel, director of member relations and advocacy for the western region at FMI, to three of their grocery stores in California. The high chain grocery store in LA has been around since 1951, and places an emphasis on delivering outstanding customer service. Wolfgang Puck’s pizza oven café is a staple for shoppers in search of to-go prepared foods.

On September 15, 2016, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) released the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) online shopping pilot Request for Volunteers (RFV). The online shopping pilot is designed to explore the feasibility of using SNAP benefits to shop and pay for groceries online.

Susan Borra, RD, executive director of the FMI Foundation, participated in a recent edition of Sound Bites, a Podcast hosted by registered dietitian and nutritionist, Melissa Joy Dobbins to talk National Family Meals Month.

Cynthia Brazzel, director of member relations and advocacy for the western region at FMI, visited Rainbow Acres in Venice Beach, CA. The stores unique features include an extensive naturals, supplements and herbs department complete with a certified nutritionist at its pharmacy counter. It also boasts salad bars full of fresh produce and a rather busy cold-press juice bar.