Food City Marks 100 Years

Food City officially turned 100 on April 9, and the Southeastern grocer has various events planned for its year-long celebration of the milestone. For instance, the supermarket chain is reviving one of its most popular promotions: the Food City $100,000 Treasure Hunt.

From April 18 through June 13, the Treasure Hunt Prize Team will embark on a tour to award cash prizes to winners throughout the Food City’s store footprint. The banner’s shoppers will be automatically entered to win each time they use a ValuCard to buy five or more select brands.

Random winners will be chosen throughout the contest period. The prize team will visit the homes of perspective winners on April 28, May 12, May 26, June 9 and June 23. Each weekend, winners will be able to compete for cash prizes. Winners will get 10 minutes to present as many participating store-brand products as possible in their homes, and they’ll receive $200 for showing their ValuCard and $100 for each qualifying product presented to the team within the allotted ten minutes, up to the maximum prize of $10,000.

The grocer also recently revealed plans to donate $100,000 in additional monies to charities throughout its market area in the Food City 100th Anniversary Charity Challenge.

“Food City is extremely proud to be a local, family-owned company. Our heritage dates back 100 years,” noted Steven C. Smith, president and CEO of Abingdon, Va.-based K-VA-T Food Stores Inc., the parent company of Food City. “While the Smith family entered the grocery business in 1955, the Food City chain we purchased in 1984 dates back to 1918, when the Humphreys family opened their first supermarket in Greeneville, Tenn.”

Over the course of its existence, the chain has introduced loyalty marketing programs, and pharmacy and fuel centers at its supermarkets, as well as curbside pickup and home delivery.

“The grocery industry has certainly seen its fair share of changes over the past 100 years,” added Smith. “From the days of groceries being stored behind the counter to self-service supermarkets, scanning registers, curbside pickup and now home delivery service — a lot has changed. But one thing that has remained the same is our unwavering commitment to our customers, our associates and the communities we serve.”

Additional events and activities will roll out over the course of the year.