Celebrating Grocery Do-gooders: The 2021 Community Uplift Awards

By: Rick Tibbetts, Communications Specialist, FMI

I began my foray into the food industry at 16 years old, when I got a job at a well-known New England grocery store. My duties included bagging groceries, stocking shelves, corralling carriages and making sure every customer received a high-quality experience. During every shift, I was immersed in crowds of friends, neighbors, and community members – each one comfortably perusing the aisles and occasionally striking up conversation with an employee or fellow shopper. As I worked, I could overhear snippets of these conversations; familiar questions, such as “how are the kids?”, “how was your weekend?“ and “did you catch the game last night?”, as well as jovial pronouncements, like “thanks for letting me know!” and “it was so good to see you.” As a student of speech and rhetoric, it didn’t take me long to realize that these brief, yet pleasant dialogues served a greater purpose. They were essential to fostering the sense of unity, trust and hominess that characterizes any tightknit community. It also occurred to me that these conversations don’t just happen anywhere, that grocery stores act as a rare public forum for this subtle kind of community building. I began to wonder how else my grocery store was uplifting my community.

After five years on the job, I had enough experience and knowledge to answer that question a hundred times over. In fact, I started wondering how my grocery store wasn’t uplifting my community! After all, the store would routinely donate to foodbanks, host charity drives, run holiday-themed children’s contests, and sponsor major community projects. What’s more is that the store offered a scholarship program that provided $1,000 per year to any college-enrolled employee, which I took full advantage of as a student at Syracuse University. I couldn’t believe that a grocery store would invest so heavily in its people and community, despite hardly being acknowledged or rewarded for its selfless deeds. I never imagined that I would one day be a part of an effort to change that.

Today, I am proud to announce the launch of FMI’s 2021 Community Uplift Awards program (formerly, Community Outreach Awards). This year’s program seeks to celebrate the myriad ways food retailers and suppliers go beyond their day-to-day operations through acts of public service, philanthropy, education and advocacy. Grocery do-gooders can apply for three award categories:

1. Youth Development Programs, which include education, employment, job readiness and mentoring or tutoring initiatives
2. Programs Addressing Food Insecurity, such as food drives, food bank donations and commitments to increase access to fresh food in underserved areas
3. Neighborhood Health Improvement Programs, like blood drives, health related runs or walks, sustainability education and community involvement.

FMI welcomes all food retailers and suppliers to submit a nomination and showcase their invaluable efforts to uplift the communities they serve. Nominations for the 2021 Community Uplift Awards close Friday, Sept. 24, at 5:00 p.m. EST. Winners will be announced Thursday, Oct. 7. For more information on eligibility, judging criteria and awards prizes, please visit www.FMI.org/CommunityUplift

You don’t have to work at a grocery store for five years to understand that food retailers and suppliers strive to make wherever they do business a better place. The essential workers in their ranks go to bat for their communities every day, providing the kind of resources that fill our hearts and minds, not just our fridges and cabinets. If your company engages in such good, uplifting work, it deserves to be recognized. Click on the button below to apply.

Submit a Nomination