Linda Doherty has spent 33 years with the New Jersey Food Council. As she prepares to retire in January, she leaves an association she described in her retirement announcement as “at the pinnacle of our success.”
Asked to name what she is proudest of, Doherty noted that it is not one thing.
“It’s the integrity, respect and influence we have developed over the years to protect and advance our member mission,” she said.
The Trenton-based trade association represents supermarkets, convenience stores and the food distribution industry in New Jersey. The council describes that industry as a $157 billion economy feeding nearly 10 million New Jerseyans a day.
Doherty is the fifth president in NJFC’s 57-year history and the longest-serving. Before the NJFC board promoted her, she served as EVP and VP and held the position of director of communications and public affairs. She was promoted to president and CEO after Jim Morford retired and his successor, Rick Wright, stayed in the role for six months. She has served as president and CEO for almost a quarter century.
Her goals focused on building an executive-level board that knew how to deliver the council’s mission. She also aimed to exceed financial objectives so NJFC could fight bad policy and advance its interests.
She wanted to engage the talents of members and design meaningful events and programs. She set out to develop emerging leaders through the council’s leadership program and scholarship foundation and to hire the right team “to execute our purpose.”
Doherty listed a number of accomplishments. They include the council’s success in legal challenges related to gift cards and slip-and-fall lawsuits, the Leadership Development Program and the ban on single-use paper and plastic bags. She also cited millions of dollars in state grant funds for member food handler training and the council’s response to and recovery from Superstorm Sandy and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The council’s energy aggregation program has saved members tens of millions of dollars. Its Educational Fund has awarded 305 scholarships totaling $950,000, and its sponsorship program has put NJFC on solid financial footing over the past two decades.
Doherty also created a solution that became law and is now rolled out statewide. It allows shoppers to donate used reusable bags, which are sanitized and distributed to local food banks, pantries and others in need.
In 2025, she led efforts to strengthen New Jersey’s organized retail crime laws. She also helped create and develop emergency management and food safety and defense programs for NJFC members in conjunction with government partners.
In the courts, Doherty supported a successful challenge in slip-and-fall litigation that the New Jersey Supreme Court decided in the industry’s favor.
Gift card fight
Doherty described what was at stake in the council’s challenge to the state’s escheat law, under which the state could claim the value of a gift card that went unused for a period of time. The state argued that retailers would still have to honor the card’s value, then appeal to the state treasurer to be made whole.
“It was a terrible idea and was being used to plug a state budget hole,” Doherty said. “[The NJFC] fought back and took it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. If we lost, every other state would have used that tactic to generate funds for their coffers and harm the shopper.”
The case was New Jersey Retail Merchants Association v. Sidamon-Eristoff. NJFC joined the New Jersey Retail Merchants Association and American Express Prepaid Card Management Corp. to challenge a 2010 amendment to the state’s unclaimed property law. For the first time, the amendment provided for the state to take custody of gift card balances, with cards escheating to the state after two years of inactivity.
In January 2012, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a preliminary injunction blocking two pro-visions of the law. The first barred the state from applying the law to existing cards redeemable for merchandise or services.
The second was a place-of-purchase provision that would have made unredeemed balances on any card bought in New Jersey subject to the state’s claim, regardless of the U.S. Supreme Court’s priority rules for unclaimed property. The court did uphold the law’s requirement to collect name and address information from gift card purchasers. The state sought U.S. Supreme Court review of the Third Circuit ruling. NJFC filed a brief opposing the petition, and the Supreme Court denied review Oct. 29, 2012, leaving the Third Circuit’s ruling in place.
Relationship building
Asked how NJFC has kept its seat at the table, Doherty pointed to years of work.
“Governing and politics have changed dramatically over the years, but … relationship building, proven advocacy, industry support and effective outcomes make NJFC a formidable player,” she said.
Doherty’s work extends beyond the council. She chairs the New Jersey Clean Communities Council and is a past chair of the State WIC Advisory Council. She is a strategic partner on the board of the New Jersey Food Processors Association and a sector representative on the New Jersey Infrastructure Advisory Committee. She is also the longest-serving member of the New Jersey Child Labor Law Enforcement Advisory Board in the state Department of Labor.
In 2020, then-Gov. Phil Murphy named her to the Governor’s Restart and Recovery Advisory Council to help shape the state’s COVID-19 response.
Nationally, Doherty is a former chair of the Food Industry Association Executives Board of Directors, whose groups represent 95 percent of the grocery retail industry. She also served on the board of directors of the National Grocers Association.
Saying goodbye
Asked about the hardest stretch of her tenure, Doherty pointed to the present.
“Announcing my retirement,” she said. “There are a few things I want to complete and events I want to plan for 2027 but realize the sand is lowering in the hourglass. As a woman of Irish descent, goodbyes are not a strong suit.”
Her advice for her successor is to lean on the membership.
“We have the best and most member-engaged association. Be sure to listen to the wisdom of the members and execute utilizing your talents on their behalf,” Doherty said.
The one issue she would like to see finished is weights and measures reform, which she said still may be a possibility.
As for what comes next, Doherty said the industry has become part of her identity.
“Working in this industry for more than three decades, it’s in my blood and now part of my DNA, so not sure one can ever leave it behind,” she said. “I have a few ideas – and two adorable grandchildren – so my journey continues.”