The New England Produce Council (NEPC) hosted a Dole-sponsored dinner meeting Jan. 11 at the Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB), where NEPC President Anthony Sattler of C&S Wholesale Grocers and and Neil Kessler, Northeast region manager for Dole, presented a $5,000 check to GBFB President and CEO Catherine D’Amato. The presentation came following a day-long event in which […]
Author Archives: Shelby Report Staff

The Shelby Report newsroom covers the grocery industry for retailers, wholesalers and suppliers. Staff reports include store openings, executive appointments, company announcements and industry event coverage. Since 1967, The Shelby Report has covered supermarkets, grocery chains and independent grocers through five regional editions.
Thorpe Joins PFMA Team
The Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association (PFMA) has hired Meagan Thorpe as association services manager. Thorpe will research legislative and regulatory issues, serve as a liaison to communicate emergency planning issues, manage the association’s committees and provide government relations coverage in the monthly newsletter and weekly e-newsletter communications. She also will assist with the planning and educational […]
Two Iconic Brands To Exhibit At Sweets & Snacks Expo For First Time
McKee Foods, maker of Little Debbie snacks, and Clif Bar will exhibit at the Sweets & Snacks Expo this year for the first time. The 2017 expo, hosted by the National Confectioners Association (NCA), will be held May 23-25 at Chicago’s McCormick Place. McKee Foods began during the height of the Great Depression when O.D. McKee began […]
AB InBev, Keurig Partner To Create In-Home Alcoholic Drink Dispenser
Anheuser-Busch InBev and Keurig Green Mountain have entered into a joint venture focused on the research and development of an in-home alcohol drink system. The venture will build on the Keurig Kold technology and system innovations and AB InBev’s brewing and packaging technology, and evolve them within the realm of the full adult beverage category, including beer, […]
Ohio’s The Andersons To Shutter Four Remaining Retail Stores
The Andersons general stores will close their remaining four retail locations—two in Toledo and two in Columbus—in the second quarter, the company said Sunday. The stores, which average 140,000 s.f.—carry approximately 125,000 SKUs and sell everything from groceries to mattresses to clothing. “The decision to close The Andersons stores was not easy for anyone involved,” […]
‘Iron Chef America’ Judge Rizzotti Joining Meijer For Italian Cooking Promotion
Grand Rapids-based Meijer is teaming up with the Italian Trade Agency to bring an authentic Italian cooking experience to select stores. Events will be hosted later this month by The Food Network’s “Iron Chef America” Judge Mario Rizzotti. The cooking demonstrations are part of a larger Meijer Mercato Italiano experience that will take place at […]
Millennials Will Pay More For Personal, Environmental Health Attributes
Millennial shoppers are concerned with both personal and environmental health and are willing to pay extra for products that are sustainable. This is one of hundreds of findings in “What’s in Store 2017,” the latest edition of the annual trends publication from the International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association (IDDBA). Other findings in the book’s “Consumer Lifestyles” chapter include: […]
Non-Food For Thought: Why Make HBW Your Top New Year’s Resolution?
by Naomi Sleeper/director of business development, Imperial Distributors According to an Acosta study commissioned by the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), sales of health, beauty and wellness (HBW) products total $84 billion annually. Grocery retailers only capture about $15 billion of those sales. This means a big opportunity for supermarkets to increase their share of HBW sales. […]
Brookshire Brothers Opens Express Unit In Hudson, Texas
Brookshire Brothers opened its first store of the new year on Wednesday in Hudson, Texas. The Brookshire Brothers Express is located at 6564 Ted Trout Drive and features fresh meat and produce, a hot deli with daily specials, Western Union, money orders and a full-service courtesy booth. Stephanie Matthews, a Jasper native, leads the unit as […]
Amazon Go Experiment Challenges Retailers To Test New Innovations
by Marek Polonski/SVP, Applied Predictive Technologies E-commerce giant Amazon is striving to make the dream of a streamlined shopping experience a reality with the recent debut of Amazon Go, a brick-and-mortar grocery and convenience store leveraging technology to eliminate checkout lines. At Amazon Go’s physical location, the store’s technology detects when products are picked up […]
GACS President: Businesses Being Held Responsible For Fulton County’s ‘Sliders’ Problem
by Angela Holland/president, Georgia Association of Convenience Stores “Sliders” are not just small burgers in Atlanta. They also are persons who slide from one vehicle to another while the owner/driver is pumping gas. Many times, they steal valuables from the car, but if one leaves their keys in the car, they simply steal the car. […]
Rich’s Foodservice Launches C-Store Line Of Healthy Energy Bars, Cookies
Rich’s Foodservice of Buffalo, New York, has introduced its line of Better-For-You Protein Energy Bars and Cookies for the convenience store channel. The portfolio, compatible with ACT ovens, began rolling out to U.S. c-stores on Jan. 3. “We’re delighted to offer c-stores this delicious snack that combines consumers’ desires for fresh baked goods and healthier […]
Supervalu Sees Rise In Wholesale Segment As Retail Sales Continue To Falter
Supervalu’s third quarter wholesale sales increased slightly vs. a year ago, but its retail segment continued to struggle. Total net sales within the wholesale segment increased 0.2 percent, to $1.91 billion from $1.90 billion a year ago. New business is outpacing lost business, the company said. Retail identical store sales were negative 5.7 percent, dropping […]
Americans Trend Away From Processed Foods, Opting For Fresh Because Of Health
A new survey of more than 1,000 U.S. consumers shows that, compared to three years ago, Americans are consuming more fresh products, including fruits, vegetables, meats and cheeses. The nationwide trend away from processed foods is driven by healthier diets and lifestyles, according to data gathered in December 2016 by research firm OpinionWay for Bizerba […]
Northgate Markets, Emerson Partner To Bring Food Waste Recycling System To California
Northgate Markets offers its shoppers a wide selection of fresh, healthy food like guacamoles and ceviches, but that creates a dilemma: What should be done with the food scraps? For Northgate Markets, these scraps add up quickly: Just one store in the Southern California chain uses six cases of avocados each day to prepare guacamole […]
South Richey Fiesta Mart Grand Opening Is Wednesday
Houston-based Fiesta Mart will host a grand opening celebration at its store at 2877 South Richey in Houston on Wednesday. The grocer says the grand opening is part of a long-term reinvigoration of the Fiesta brand and its “commitment to provide uncompromised freshness, great value and an unsurpassed variety of food choices every day.” The […]
Crest Foods Raises $80K At Annual Golf Tourney For Childhood Hunger
Eight-store Oklahoma-based grocer Crest Foods once again “took a swing” at childhood hunger in Oklahoma, raising $80,000 from its 28th annual golf tournament, held at Oak Tree Golf & Country Club in Edmond last year. The funds will support the Regional Food Bank’s Food for Kids Backpack Program and provide weekend food for chronically hungry school children. A semi-truck […]
Wegmans To Employ 1,000 At Two New N.J. Stores
Wegmans has begun the process of hiring and training 1,000 people for its two new stores in Montvale and Hanover, New Jersey. The Montvale store in Bergen County is set to open in the fall and employ approximately 500 people, 450 of whom will be hired locally. Of these, there are 200 full-time positions to […]
Giant Food Assists In Development Of New Maryland Food Bank Facility
With the assistance of Giant Food, the Community Action Council of Howard County, Maryland, is looking forward to the Jan. 10 opening of the new Howard County Food Bank facility. The new building will include improved technology for tracking clients and supplies, provide more food choices and heighten the food bank’s ability to provide for more […]
Bulk Of Retailers Chosen For SNAP Online Pilot Based In The Northeast
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has selected seven retailers to participate in a new project designed to enable Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants to purchase their groceries online. The two-year pilot is slated to begin this summer, with many of the chosen retailers based in the Northeast. “Online purchasing is a potential lifeline for […]
