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RETAIL SUSTAINABILITY AWARD - PRICE CHOPPER’S MARKET 32
energy ef ciencies, food safety, local grower sustenance, and consumer-cen- tric merchandising also tie into various sustainability initiatives.
“In prioritizing investments, we take many variables into consideration, and there is no one standardized methodolog- ical approach. ... You have the umbrella, and you want to do the right thing, but of course labor, shrink and margins are always top of mind,” says Berman. “So if the change either positively impacts those things or doesn’t negatively impact them, we have a good chance of success — making sure store level teammates know the why of what they are doing as opposed to just the what is key to getting that buy-in.”
For instance, Price Chopper is diverting land lls with 85 percent to 90 percent of waste generated in stores through redis- tribution, reuse, recycling or composting. The chain also recently entered into a part- nership for food recovery with Feeding America — the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief organization, with a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food
pantries and meal programs providing food security and support services to communities spanning the entire country.
“This company is extraordinarily focused on being really engaged stewards within the communities we do business in, and this is an aspect of socially respon- sible business we wanted to make sure we developed and deployed as effectively as possible,” says Berman, noting very
complex and robust conversations on just how to evolve the Feeding America partnership and food donation platform.
Produce is a core component in Price Chopper’s Fresh Food Recovery Program, according to Pam Cerrone, manager of community relations, who recently celebrated her 30th anniversary at the company, and oversees the Feeding America initiative. This collaboration ts
42 / MAY 2016 / PRODUCE BUSINESS