Southeastern Grocers Sponsors Upcoming Pride Events

Retailer’s support of LGBTQ+ community is one facet of its culture of inclusivity

9/14/2021

Southeastern Grocers Sponsors Upcoming Pride Events

Southeastern Grocers is celebrating its diverse communities and advocating for belonging and inclusion by sponsoring four Pride festivals in its home state of Florida.

Southeastern Grocers is emphasizing its commitment to creating a culture of belonging with new sponsorships for the LGBTQ+ community. The company announced this week that it is sponsoring four Pride festivals in Florida, including River City Pride in Jacksonville, Miami Beach Pride, Come Out with Pride in Orlando and Pride on the River in Tampa.

While many events are traditionally held during Pride Month in June, several activities were pushed to this fall due to COVID-19 flare-ups earlier this summer. Miami Beach Pride’s festival and parade weekend, for example, is coming up on Sept. 18 and 19, and River City Pride is slated for Saturday, Oct. 2.

“At Southeastern Grocers, we wholeheartedly embrace our diverse associates, customers and communities and commit to cultivating an inclusive environment within our company and in the neighborhoods we serve. We proudly support our LGBTQ+ family by advocating for positive change to create a more equitable society and empowering everyone to be their true, authentic selves. When we stand together, love wins,” remarked Elizabeth Thompson, the retailer’s chief people officer.

According to Thompson, Southeastern Grocers fosters a company- and community-wide spirit of inclusiveness by sponsoring seven associate resource groups and celebrating several other activities throughout the year, including Black History Month, Juneteenth, Hispanic Heritage Month, Women’s History Month, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, MLK Day and Veterans Day, among others. The retailer is a longtime partner of the National Diversity Council and an active member and supporter of other organizations centered on belonging.

Southeastern Grocers is one of the winners of Progressive Grocer's first annual Impact Awards, which recognizes companies that positively affect society through environmental, social and governance actions.

Jacksonville, Fla.-based Southeastern Grocers is one of the largest conventional supermarket companies in the United States, with grocery stores, liquor stores and in-store pharmacies serving communities throughout Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi. The company is No. 34 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer's 2020 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.