With a $365 million capital investment, Food Lion has enhanced the customer shopping experience with remodeled stores in the greater Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, area and Mecklenburg County, Virginia.
At 7:45 a.m. Aug. 21, Food Lion will hold ribbon-cutting events at 167 stores in the Raleigh-Durham market. Afterward, the first 100 customers in line will receive giveaways and a gift card with a chance to win a grand prize of $1,000 in Food Lion gift cards.
The investment includes an extensive product assortment with a focus on a variety of affordable and easy meal solutions that are ready to eat, cook or heat. The stores also will feature fresh and simple branded meals.
Inspired by customer and employee feedback, nearly all stores are introducing self-checkout lanes to complement the traditional checkout option. In addition, Food Lion continues to invest in training and developing employees to provide the best customer experience.
“For nearly 50 years, Food Lion has been committed to caring for our neighbors in the Raleigh-Durham area,” said Meg Ham, president, Food Lion.
“We take pride in serving generations of families and are thrilled to extend that warm welcome to existing and new families in their remodeled Food Lion store. Enhancements were made with our customers in mind. They’ll discover a refreshed look and feel, and more convenient grab-and-go items that make life easier. Our customers can continue to count on Food Lion to help nourish their families as we provide an easy, fresh and affordable omnichannel shopping experience.”
Remodeled stores
Store upgrades include an extensive product assortment, including fresh produce, quality meats and many other products to meet individual and family needs with a specific focus on simple meal solutions and time-saving options. Customers also will find a large selection of organic, gluten-free and plant-based items, including Nature’s Promise.
Through its Local Goodness program, Food Lion stores offer a variety of regional items sourced from local growers or manufacturers. The enhanced locally-grown assortment includes 25-30 seasonal produce items, such as squash, cucumbers, greens, berries and melons.
Through the end of summer, customers can find items such as bulk pickling cucumbers, green peanuts and a variety of tomatoes. For the fall, the stores will offer muscadine grapes and an assorted variety of seasonal apples.
The enhancements also include offering Food Lion To Go pickup and home delivery options. Orders may be placed via the website or app.
Food Lion’s enhanced stores feature energy-efficient LED lighting and refrigerated cases with doors to help reduce its environmental footprint. Based on its sustainability measures, Food Lion is the only company in the country to receive the Energy Star Partner of the Year Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy for 23 consecutive years.
[RELATED: Food Lion Maintains Energy Star Partner Status]
Food Lion Feeds supports partner food banks
Food Lion has contributed $50,000 through its hunger-relief platform, Food Lion Feeds, to benefit Inter-Faith Food Shuttle in Raleigh. The funds will go toward the nonprofit’s culinary apprenticeship program, which helps students gain hands-on culinary training and paid work experience to prepare for careers in the foodservice industry.
“Our Culinary Apprenticeship Program tackles the root causes of hunger by addressing unemployment, meeting industry demand and empowering underserved communities. By equipping individuals with culinary skills, we foster economic growth and strengthen food security,” said L. Ron Pringle, president and CEO, Inter-Faith Food Shuttle.
“We are proud to provide participants with state-of-the-art classroom space, made possible by the unwavering support of Food Lion Feeds, a longtime partner committed to our mission.”
Food Lion Feeds also works with the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina, providing $200,000 toward purchasing a refrigerated tractor-trailer to help support its pop-up markets across the area. The truck can hold an average of 40,000 pounds of food and will allow the food bank to distribute about 700,000 pounds of food annually.
In addition, Food Lion Feeds will provide $5,000 in Food Lion gift cards to the following: Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina Pop-up Market at St. Augustine University; Christians United Outreach Center of Lee County, North Carolina; Community of Hope Ministries; Union Mission Food Pantry Ministry; Tri-Area Ministry Food Pantry; North Carolina Central University; Concerned Citizens of Tillery; Shaw University; and Beauty Spot Missionary Baptist Church Outreach Ministry.
