Food Lion Founder Ralph Ketner Turns 94

At the start of Food Lion's annual Family Day Picnic on Sunday, Sept. 29, more than 3,000 associates of the Delhaize America chain, along with their families, sang "Happy Birthday" to honor Food Lion's 94-year-old founder, Ralph Ketner.

The company's president, Beth Newlands Campbell, presented Ketner with an oversized birthday banner, signed by hundreds of employees, as well as a huge cupcake-style birthday cake. Associates also marked the occasion by volunteering to pack hundreds of backpacks with nonperishable food items to give out to hungry children through Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina, in Charlotte, N.C.

The volunteer activity during the picnic, which additionally offered free food, games, rides and prizes, continued Salisbury, N.C.-based Food Lion's refocused community campaign initiative, Food Lion Feeds, which aims to eliminate hunger in local communities. The event took place at the chain’s warehouse on Harrison Road in Salisbury.