Springfield, Massachusetts-based Big Y joins supermarkets and food manufacturers nationwide in celebrating Supermarket Employee Day on Feb. 22.
FMI – The Food Industry Association has established this holiday to recognize employees at every level for the work they do feeding families and enriching lives.
With more than 40,000 individual stores that sell food and grocery items in the U.S. alone, supermarkets are the backbones of their communities. Millions of supermarket employees come to work daily to keep shelves stocked and to provide communities with essential services that help them survive and thrive.
“We are thrilled to join in this national celebration of Supermarket Employee Day in recognition of the critical role our teams provide to our communities everyday. I’m so proud of the efforts of each of our 12,000 employees for their dedication, resilience and care. We all appreciate their hard work and commitment,” said Charles L. D’Amour, Big Y president and CEO.
Despite supply chain disruptions or work-force reductions, supermarket employees have demonstrated ongoing resilience. Big Y Supermarket says its employees have personified compassion and courage.
“On behalf of Big Y, we invite all residents of our community to stop into one of our stores on Feb. 22 to congratulate and thank our local supermarket heroes,” D’Amour said. “Better yet, honor your favorite heroes in your social media and use the hashtags, #SupermarketEmployeeDay and #SupermarketHeroes.”
“Supermarket employees have earned our gratitude and respect, which is why we created a holiday to celebrate them,” said Leslie G. Sarasin, president and CEO of FMI. “The fact is they always have been frontline heroes during periods of crisis. In the face of natural disasters or global pandemics, these brave and dedicated individuals keep communities strong and moving forward.”
Big Y Foods Inc. is one of the largest independently owned supermarket chains in New England. Big Y operates 84 locations throughout Massachusetts and Connecticut with almost 12,000 employees.
The company has been recognized by Forbes as a Best-in-State Employer in Massachusetts and Connecticut for the past three years, as well as 2018 Employer of Choice by the Employers Association of the Northeast. Founded in 1936 by brothers Paul and Gerald D’Amour, the store was named after an intersection in Chicopee, Massachusetts where two roads converge to form a “Y.”
For more information, visit bigy.com.
