By: David Fikes, Vice President, Consumer/Community Affairs and Communication, Food Marketing Institute
There is a bias toward bad news. It has been the scientifically proven that negative information weighs more heavily on the human brain than positive information, so it is no wonder that watching the news these days can be distressing and depressing. The more memorable energy surge that accompanies negative information just makes it more attractive to the media.
Even so, while the bad news seems to lead, there are stories of good going on in the world. And given the fact it takes five pieces of good news to neutralize a single piece of bad news, we need to showcase the good as strongly as we can.
We know every supermarket sees itself as a vital part of the community it serves and strives to give back. This commitment to the neighborhood is a traditional part of what makes food retail such a noble enterprise. Annually we host the FMI Community Outreach Awards as a means of celebrating those stories of grocers doing good. This year, we received the largest number of nominees ever and to showcase these stories even wider we’re taking these wholesome tales to social media.
From November 2 – 6, 2015 all our 2015 Community Outreach Award nominees will be posted to the FMI Facebook page under the tab: Grocers Doing Good. We invited you to visit, read through the extraordinary stories of how grocers are making the world a bit better and vote for your favorite. The story with the most votes come Friday, November 6 at 5:00 pm ET will receive $1,000 donation to help their program grow.
Winners in our other Community Outreach Award categories will be announced later this month, so check back. In the meantime, help battle the bad news bias by spreading some positive news. These are the stories that don’t get big headlines, but make the real difference in people’s lives. Help us make them contagious by voting and sharing on social media using #GrocersDoingGood.
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