A few weeks ago, Cynthia Brazzel, director of member relations and advocacy for the western region at FMI, toured the newest Northgate Gonzalez Market in Anaheim, CA. One unique feature of this vibrant store is its Mercado concept (a variety of food islands and perimeter service counters), which puts an emphasis on fresh foods. Shoppers can take their pick at a sushi bar, house made sausage center, a meals-to-go island, guacamole station, coffee, Aguas Frescas and so on.

In response to FSMA, SQFI has developed a voluntary Preventive Controls audit checklist and guidance document for stakeholders to use as a guide for identifying the necessary steps to bridge any gaps between a company’s SQF Program and the PC rule.

Most of us are knee deep in the annual calendar recalibration known as “back to school month” and are hastily trying to get acclimated to the new pace- frantically searching for the rhythm that feels more like normal and less like a jolt to the system.  While all of this is going on, we should remember that back to school time also means back to Congress.

It is time to make it clear to your Member of Congress that you strongly oppose repealing these important debit reforms and that you are watching how they vote on this issue. We hope you will support these efforts by sending a letter in opposition to the legislation we feel is more appropriately called the “No-Choice Act”.

Every day in September has been a real treat because my daily emails are full of new and exciting National Family Meals Month™ stories.  It’s clear that grocery stores are coming up with creative ways to join in on Family Meals Month and that the movement has transitioned from mainly a social media discussion to promotions and activities playing out in-store. At the same time, the Dietitian community has joined in to echo the benefits of eating together for families of all shapes and sizes. As the Family Meals Month messages continue to crescendo, here are a few examples of how companies and people are taking part

If the Fed was looking for an indicator that the U.S. economy was ready for a rate hike, the August job numbers weren’t any help. After two spectacular months of employment gains, August’s disappointing numbers made one thing clear – we desperately need to pick up the pace of job creation and put more people back to work. In the grocery business, this is sometimes easier said than done.

Speaks and Trends. These are the nicknames of the best known, long-standing research reports produced by FMI.  The Food Retailing Industry Speaks report is an annual survey sent to FMI members and other food retailers in the food industry that benchmarks supermarket operations data and includes the FMI Worry Index. The U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends report, prepared for FMI by the Hartman Group, provides data on the U.S shopper and changes to shopping habits over time.