Center Store

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Inner-city supermarkets can improve their profit margins and the health of the communities they serve by offering shoppers free transportation, according to a report released yesterday by researchers at the UC Davis Center for Advanced Studies in Nutrition and Social Marketing.

RACINE, Wisc. - The doors open today at Uncommon Shop Girls' Atypical Market, a small gourmet grocery store concept developed by Jeanne Dillon and Roberta Schulz, co-owners of Out of the Pan restaurant and catering, next door.

Newark, Del. -- The Produce Marketing Association stated a preference for an industry-driven, voluntarysystem for country of origin labeling (COOL) in its comments offered yesterday to the USDA.

NEW YORK - A number of produce and packaged food providers to Fleming Cos Inc. on Thursday said the bankrupt grocery distributor could not use the money they are owed, citing a Depression-era law.

NEW YORK - At least four major foodmakers -- Kraft Foods, Tyson Foods, General Mills and H.J. Heinz -- have acknowledged that they are cooperating with federal investigations into possible accounting fraud at U.S. Foodservice, Ahold's food distribution business.

ST. LOUIS - As part of its ongoing strategy to streamline operations and improve profitability, food marketer Aurora Foods Inc. has reduced its corporate staff by 25 percent.

ATLANTA - One of the nation's most innovative convenience store retailers, Wawa, Inc. has launched a new customer self-service kiosk solution from Radiant Systems, Inc. in more than 500 of its stores throughout Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

New York, NY - Today's global consumers connect with brand franchises that symbolize trust, offer a specific expertise, and group products logically, according to a study released today by ACNielsen, the world's leading marketing information company.