Nov 22, 2021

By Dan Ratner, Senior Director, Member Services, FMI
boxing gloves 2

Reflecting back on 2021, it reminds me of the final scenes of that original award-winning movie, Rocky, where Sylvester Stallone’s character has the chance to face the biggest challenge of his career and is knocked down again and again only to continue to rise up each and every time to the amazement of everyone watching including his opponent.

As a food industry professional, this story may resonate with you. For supermarket employees, they step into the ring every single day.

Bobbing and Weaving

Our beloved food industry – and the employees that support it – has bounced back from major blows to the supply chain, stood up to scrutiny and criticism related to inflation and pricing, and endured staffing shortages and mandates that attempt to keep us up against the ropes and weaken our performance.

Standing Strong

Supermarket employees have remained steadfast and endured hardships and difficult circumstances throughout this lingering pandemic. It’s their resilience and fortitude that allows retailers to overcome the challenges that test their spirit day after day.

Caring

Just like Rocky, it’s ultimately a love story. The compassion supermarket employees have for their company, their teammates, and the communities they serve are what drives this vibrant industry forward.

Thanks

We’re closing in on the end of this difficult and exhausting 2021 round and it’s important for us to take a moment during this season of thanks and express our appreciation to these everyday heroes for what they do to sustain the retail food industry. As the busiest time of the year, the holiday season is when supermarket employees show their true mettle.

The Sequel

As we prepare for the bell to ring to start 2022, it’s time to plan for the sequel (an all too familiar concept for the renowned Rocky franchise) to this year’s inaugural Supermarket Employee Day. It premieres on February 22, 2022 or 2.22.22 which lands coincidentally on a Tuesday (I like to call it “Twosday” in this case.) Plan your Supermarket Employee Day activities and begin the process of celebrating these everyday heroes. There are turnkey resources and celebration ideas in the Supermarket Employee Day Toolkit.

Victory

Supermarket Employee Day is an opportunity to celebrate supermarket employees for what they do and their meaningful contribution to our communities. A chance to show them that we are in their corner cheering them on every step of the way.

Supermarket Employee Day Toolkit