Food Trade Talk

April 2008
by Nina Weiland

Whatever happened to the old phrase, “April showers bring May flowers”? We already have May flowers in April and temperatures reaching the 80 degree mark! I am all for warm weather, but doesn’t this make you stop and wonder if this is global warming flirting with us? I read somewhere that spring is coming eight hours earlier each year. It will eventually wreak havoc with nature’s cycles and affect their food supply and then ours. Is Mother Nature trying to tell us something? Isn’t it time for conservation to be taken seriously? With the economy going south, maybe we need to look at the upside and realize that money talks and, if that’s what it’s going to take to make people conserve, maybe the recession is a good thing. I am sure people will be forced to conserve their traveling with gasoline prices hitting five dollars a gallon by summer. Hmm, maybe people will start walking and riding bikes and lose some weight and feel better! Maybe people won’t be cooling their houses down to 65 degrees this summer, but will go back to opening windows and running the fans and sleeping restfully. Maybe people will start gardening for their basic fruits and veggies and get rid of some of the pesticides in their diets. With prices going up at the grocery stores, people will probably not buy all the extras, so maybe we’ll all eat less and get healthier. Let’s hope the grocery stores will do everything in their power to encourage their customers to purchase reusable bags, eco-friendly products and buy their fresh fruits and vegetables locally, cutting down on their gas usage. And finally, consumers have to keep demanding that the manufacturers keep making their packages out of bio-degradable materials and stop creating so much trash from eating take-out. I know this isn’t very original, but what is it going to take to kick-start people into really understanding what conserving can do for them or, more importantly, their children and their children’s children? Families must become good examples to their children, schools have to really integrate ecology into the curriculum and teach the realities of the future to their students, and communities have to work together to educate their citizens. Look at the success that MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) had, but it took a long time and hard work. And 25 years ago, who would ever have thought smoking would be banned from public places! It just didn’t happen overnight, we had to be made aware of the consequences over and over again. Start with the bumper stickers: Warning-Global warming is harmful to your health.

On a lighter note, congratulations to JM Herr, CEO and chairman of the Board for Herr Foods Inc., who will be presented with a Fatherhood Award on April 29 during the 11th Annual Fatherhood Awards Gala in Washington, DC. The National Fatherhood Initiative (NFI) Gala will honor father-friendly corporations who recognize the importance of involved fathers through their advertising and their work-life balance policies. Herr Foods Inc. is among three corporations being awarded for their father-friendly marketing campaigns. The NFI will also distribute awards to responsible and committed fathers who are inspiring change in neighborhoods across the country.

This year’s Variety Club Gold Heart honoree was Judy Spires, president of Acme Markets. Judy was honored on March 14 at The Crystal Tea Room in the Wannamaker Building at 100 Penn Square East in Philadelphia. Judy is active in numerous charities and boards and devotes a lot of time energy to them all. She is always a gracious and hard working recipient and deserves a lot of credit for all her good works.

Congratulations to Bernie Kenny and the Kenny Family ShopRites of Delaware on another successful charity golf outing on April 14th at the Cavaliers Country Club in Christiana, DE. Each year the fundraiser’s proceeds go to numerous deserving charities and, as of this year, it has totaled more than $346,000. Hats off to the Kenny Family and their associates and this years’ sponsors Coca-Cola and Pepsi. The co-sponsors were: Edy’s, Canada Dry, Cold Tech and Utz.

AWI held its spring “Grand Slam of Savings” selling show last month at the Toyota Arena on the York Fairgrounds, featuring meat, deli, seafood, produce, home meal replacement and store development. AWI’s Bernie Ellis and his team were among those on hand to make the show the success it was. It was attended and by both retailers and vendors.

Genuardi’s, a division of Safeway, announced that it is offering vaccinations in its Pennsylvania stores’ pharmacies to prevent against shingles. The vaccine, administered by Genuardi’s pharmacists, will be provided on a walk-in basis at in-store Pennsylvania pharmacies; patients are advised to call their local Genuardi’s pharmacy to verify availability.

“The only way to prevent against contracting this debilitating disease is to get a single shot. By administering vaccines on site, Genuardi’s is making it easy for anyone to protect themselves,” said Dave Fong, Safeway senior vice president of pharmacy.
“Receiving a shingles vaccination is as easy as stopping at the pharmacy during your regular shopping trip.”

Shingles is a disease caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox, and anyone who has ever had chickenpox is at risk for shingles. The first sign of shingles is usually an itching, tingling, burning, or painful feeling which progresses to fluid filled blisters that can last for two to four weeks. In almost every case, shingles causes pain even after the blisters heal and it can last for months or even years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends shingles vaccination for all people over the age of 60.

Genuardi’s also offers full-service adult and adolescent immunization services for the prevention of such ailments as tetanus, hepatitis, pneumococcal, meningococcal and more.

Eastern Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland are in for a treat! When customers of Redner’s Markets walk through the bakery section, they will now be greeted by the famous Carvel logo. Celebration Foods, manufacturer and distributor of leading high quality frozen desserts, has announced a partnership with Redner’s Markets to carry the Carvel brand’s famous ice cream cakes, Flying Saucer Ice Cream Sandwiches, and Slice’mmms ice cream rolls in more than 39 Eastern Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland locations. An industry first, Carvel ice cream cakes are known for their layers of premium vanilla and chocolate ice cream, tasty chocolate crunchies and creamy whipped frosting.

Happy April birthday wishes go out to: Charlie Poletti of Acosta; Jeff Smith, Bel Brands USA; Ron Benjamin, Innovative Food Sales; Larry Weaver of Keller’s Creamery; and Ann Speakman, wife of Best-Met Publishing’s CFO William Speakman.

Happy May anniversary wishes go out to: Don and Eleanor Tiesenga, AWI, on their 33rd; Doug and Diane Buchanan, Brandywine Brokerage, their 41st; and to Larry and Jutta Weaver, Keller’s Creamery, their 34th! Congratulations to all!