Sustainability

Can We Get to Zero Food Waste?

Last night at dinner, a family friend asked if it was true that around one-third of the food in this country is wasted. It was sobering to say yes. Estimates vary, but approximately 25-40% of food grown, processed and transported in the U.S. will ...

An Update on Our Work Towards Sustainable Packaging in the Food Supply Chain

The U.S. Plastics Pact Roadmap, released today, was created by this collaborative, solutions-driven consortium to enable participants to collectively reach ambitious goals by 2025 that couldn’t otherwise be met on their ...

Solar Energy Has Bright Outlook in Food Retail

As more companies have looked to reduce their electricity consumption and carbon footprints in recent years, exploring renewable energy has become a logical next step. Leading chains such as Kroger, Publix, Aldi, H-E-B, Giant Eagle, Stop & Shop, ...

The Next Hot Topic: Social Justice and Food

The whole world is anticipating, yearning, and preparing for the day when the COVID-19 pandemic does not dominate the horizon of our life considerations. From a food industry perspective, part of that involves speculating which pandemic-tinged ...

Sustainability in the Food Industry

It’s Earth Week—a time of year filled with climate announcements, ribbon-cuttings for facilities powered by cleaner energy and photos of community tree-planting events. It’s also a time for FMI to focus on just a few of the exciting sustainability ...

Get To Know the Sustainable Seafood Shopper

Today’s shoppers have stocked pantries, full freezers and overused cookbooks due to the changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. In a time where grocery shopping habits have changed for so many, one would expect seafood sustainability to drop ...

Speaking from the Heart on Valentine’s Day

I am seizing this opportunity to issue this blog as my heartfelt Valentine’s Day card to the food industry, the community I have always admired and respected, but have come to appreciate and dare I say, love, in some new and more profound ways over ...

Cold Storage is Crucial in Ecommerce Fulfillment

As retailers across the country experiment to find the best strategies to assemble and prepare online orders as quickly and efficiently as possible, cold chain management is emerging as a crucial consideration, especially as it relates to food ...

Finding Solutions for Plastics and Packaging Waste Challenges

I joke that my entryway has turned into ‘Marjorie’s MRF’ because I have so many piles of material to find a new home for. There are extra paper bags to reuse or recycle, extra plastic bags to return to the stores with collection bins, cooler bags to ...

Celebrating Supermarket Employee Day

On February 22, 2021, I will be celebrating the hard-working heroes of the supermarket by joining with the industry to proclaim it Supermarket Employee Day. The supermarket has long been acknowledged as the backbone of our communities, but its role ...

5-Tips to Improve Energy and Refrigerant Management

For store operators concerned about implementing costly new systems and procedures, there are many low or no-cost options to tackle energy leakage and manage refrigeration ...

2020: The Year of the Food Industry

From the cashiers and stockers to the store managers and executives, the drivers and food processors and pharmacist and nutritionists, to the data analysts, delivery experts and farmers, our industry is filled with true Food Industry Heroes who have ...

Celebrating Food Industry EPA GreenChill Award Winners

In a typical year, the FMI Energy & Store Development Conference would feature a special presentation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) GreenChill Awards, which celebrates leaders and innovators in the world of refrigerant management. The ...

Checking In With Walmart on Seafood Sustainability

In honor of October, National Seafood Month, we checked in with one of our members that has been making headlines recently on the sustainable seafood front. Considering their global reach, Walmart has been making strides on sustainable seafood ...

Are You Ready for Some Food Ball? The Road to Supper Bowl I

Baseball has its World Series, hockey has the Stanley Cup, tennis has its Wimbledon and football has its Super Bowl. Now the food industry has its Supper Bowl! All of these landmark competitions offer teams the chance to prove they are the best of ...