News Briefs

The FMI Foundation, together with The Safe Quality Food Institute (SQFI), a division of FMI – The Food Industry Association, has revealed the 15 recipients of the 2022 Food Safety Auditing Scholarship. The $3,000 scholarship comes with an educational travel grant to the SQF Unites Global Conference. Students currently enrolled in food and agricultural science programs were eligible to apply for the scholarship and education travel grant.

“A career in food safety auditing is a noble endeavor, and those committed to such critical work deserve to be celebrated,” said David Fikes, executive director of the Arlington, Va.-based foundation. “Out of 64 impressive applicants, 15 received this year’s scholarship, based on their outstanding academic ability, leadership potential and passion for the auditing profession. The FMI Foundation is proud to support these essential scholars and applauds their commitment to maximize public health through a safe and secure food supply chain.” 

The recipients are as follows:

• Aishwarya Vengatesan, Rutgers University
• Amrit Pal, University of Georgia
• Aryany Leticia Pena Gomez, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Bhaswati Chowdhury, South Dakota State University
• Camryn Grace Cook, Virginia Tech
• Christina Lynn Wormald-Allingham, University of Massachusetts, Amherst (pictured)
• Cyril Nsom Ayuk Etaka, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• Julysa Abril Benitez, Texas A&M University
• Kenisha Odessa Gordon, Mississippi State University
• LaTaunya Tillman, University of Florida
• Amalia Beary, Cornell University
• Marisa Lee Bacon, Michigan State University
• Supriya Daulatrao Korade, Illinois Institute of Technology
• Surabhi Wason, University of Arkansas
• Zonia Elizabeth Caro Carvajal, Mississippi State University

“The specialized contributions of food safety auditors are the foundation for trust between consumers and the food industry,” noted Gigi Vita, SQFI chief food safety assessment officer and SVP. “This year’s scholarship recipients will fortify that trust by helping to prevent foodborne illnesses and enhance food security for the next generation of consumers."

Baldor Specialty Foods, one of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic’s largest produce and specialty foods distributors, has signed a lease for a new facility in Lanham, Md., to significantly expand and enhance its Washington, D.C.-area operations.

Located in the Hargrove Industrial Campus on 4450 Hargrove Drive, the 100,000-square-foot facility features 35 dock doors that will enable Baldor to essentially double its number of routes over the next few years and provide quicker, earlier deliveries to restaurant and foodservice customers. It will also allow the company to add more area farms and vendors to its roster of fresh, local sources.

[Read more: "What Are the Top Specialty Food Trends for 2023?"]

“At Baldor, we see our customers’ success as our success, and delivering for them means providing the best possible ingredients and the best possible service every single day,” said Mike Muzyk, president of Bronx, N.Y.-based Baldor. “As our customer base has grown in D.C., Maryland and Virginia, we recognized the need for more space, and in particular, a location that allows us to get more trucks out, and out faster. This expansion reflects Baldor’s commitment to our customers in this region.” 

“The Lanham property also represents a continued investment in the economy of the area,” added Krenar Jusufi, Baldor’s VP of engineering, a HelloFresh veteran who helped identify the new facility, which he described as ideal “not only for the size of the property, but also proximity to major highways, which will allow us to deliver efficiently to all surrounding areas, as well as its local community to draw from for employment opportunities.”  

Baldor is looking to hire upwards of 100 employees to work at the site, including drivers and warehouse workers. The company manages major restaurant, foodservice, retail and corporate accounts, offering 6,000-plus fresh produce and specialty food items from Portland, Maine, to Richmond, Va.

Smart & Final is moving into a San Jose, Calif., space that once housed a Lucky grocery store. According to a report on SFGATE.com, the grocer is set to open a warehouse at 430 Blossom Hill Road on Dec. 14, featuring more than 3,000 bulk items and a wide assortment of grocery staples.

“We’re thrilled to expand Smart & Final’s presence in San Jose with the new location on Blossom Hill Road,” the store’s general manger, Carlos Santa Cruz, said in a release shared with the local news site. “The new Smart & Final in San Jose will offer the community the quality and selection of a grocery warehouse store in a smaller and faster setting.”

Smart & Final currently operates four other warehouses in San Jose, in addition to its locations throughout the greater Bay area that includes San Francisco and Oakland.

As it expands its footprint, Smart & Final has widened its presence in the omnichannel. Earlier this year, the retailer teamed up with Uber Technologies, Inc. to offer on-demand and scheduled grocery delivery, including the delivery of alcoholic beverages.

A 150-year-old grocery business, Smart & Final was acquired in 2021 by a subsidiary of Mexican supermarket operator Grupo Comercial Chedraui. The Commerce, Calif.-based Smart & Final operates more than 250 locations, including larger-format stores under the Smart & Final Extra! banner that combine a warehouse-store format with traditional grocery offerings. Grupo Comercial Chedraui is No. 40 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.

Bobo's is raising the bar on snack food production with the opening of a new manufacturing facility in Loveland, Colo. Mirroring its commitment to simple, wholesome ingredients for snack bars and other bakery products, the company designed its production site with sustainability in mind: The plant is powered entirely by wind energy and will divert more than 95% of its solid waste from a landfill through a comprehensive waste management program.

The greener features, developed with assistance from the city of Loveland, reflect Bobo's' pledge to reduce its carbon footprint and reach carbon neutrality by the end of this year. This facility also reduced the company’s emissions because it consolidates three previous facilities into one location. In addition to integrating sustainability into the new building, Bobo’s is planning to purchase carbon offsets.

[Read more: "Helping Shoppers Rethink Snack Choices"]

Automation is another hallmark of the new facility, as the snack food company sought to bolster efficiency without changing the handmade appearance and taste of its products. The plant includes new equipment like machines that tamp bars into the signature Bobo’s pan.

Overall, the baking facility can produce up to a million bars, bites or toaster pastries a day and has built-in capacity for future expansion. According to CEO TJ McIntyre, Bobo’s has been working on the site for more than two years. “We're thrilled to officially open our incredible new ‘super bakery’ today, and to continue to support the growing, nationwide consumer demand for Bobo’s products. We've brought our entire operation, including production and packaging, under one extremely efficient, wind-powered roof to produce a product true and authentic to Beryl’s original vision that began years ago in her own kitchen,” he said.

“It’s truly amazing to think back to when my daughter, Bobo, and I baked that first batch of oat bars in my kitchen,“ added Founder Beryl Stafford. “As we have scaled our production from my kitchen to this new ‘super’ bakery, through it all it’s remained paramount that we maintain the quality of our products.”

Food Lion has opened a liquor store adjacent to the Food Lion at 4305 Canton Pike in Hopkinsville, Ky. The liquor store will be open Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The location is Food Lion’s third liquor store operating adjacent to a Food Lion grocery store and its first in Kentucky.

“I’m excited to open this new store in Hopkinsville and offer our neighbors a wide product assortment at the everyday low prices they expect from Food Lion,” said Hopkinsville Food Lion Liquor Store Manager Don Cole. “With this location adjacent to the Hopkinsville Food Lion, we will continue to deliver on our commitment to make grocery shopping easy, convenient and affordable for our customers.”

The store carries several spirits distilled locally as well as other area favorites.

Salisbury, N.C.-based Food Lion has more than 1,100 stores in 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states, and employs more than 82,000 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 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.

Southeastern Grocers Inc. is helping to make Thanksgiving more affordable for its customers with deep discounts on turkeys, hams and other holiday must-haves at Winn-Dixie, ahead of its banners closing on Thanksgiving Day to enable employees to celebrate with their own families and friends.

Through Nov. 22, all Winn-Dixie stores are offering a Thanks-Winning holiday meal for less than $30 with everything needed to prepare a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at home. The meal consists of a 12-pound-or-under frozen Butterball Turkey and such Southeastern Grocers sides as Turkey Stuffing Mix, Yams Cut Sweet Potatoes, Canned Sweet Peas, Jellied Cranberry Sauce and Canned Green Beans, along with a 12-pack of Dinner Rolls and an 8-inch Pumpkin Pie from the bakery.

Additionally, through the New Year, Winn-Dixie has lowered prices on more than 150 staple items to help customers save more than 15% on average during its Holiday Down Down program. Discounted items are marked with a red hand on signs and tags throughout Winn-Dixie stores.

Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie customers can also shop online through each grocer’s respective rewards app or website for holiday essentials and have them delivered right to their doors in as little as two hours. Online customers receive the same in-store deals and promotions, and, for a limited time, orders of $35 or more will automatically receive free delivery.

Jacksonville, Fla.-based Southeastern Grocers is one of the largest conventional supermarket companies in the U.S., with grocery stores, liquor stores and in-store pharmacies serving communities throughout Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi. Its banners include Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie grocery stores. The company is No. 39 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer's 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.