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Our Voice of The Food Industry blog offers commentary from FMI subject matter experts on timely and important topics to the food industry.

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  • Discovering a Loyal, Motivated Workforce

    Jul 31, 2023
    About 70 million people, roughly one third of the United States population, have previously been incarcerated or obtained some type of criminal record. A second chance hiring initiative that employs formerly incarcerated individuals might be a ...

  • The Power of Making The World A Better Place

    Jul 14, 2023
    According to The Food Retailing Industry Speaks 2023, 82% of food retailers emphasize community support or community ties. What’s more 62% of food retailers surveyed report these community uplift programs are successful at connecting with customers. ...

  • Moving Beyond Problem Solving to Supersized Solution Scheming

    Jun 13, 2023
    In this video, FMI President and CEO Leslie G. Sarasin gives a state of the industry address focusing on six imperative issues confronting the food industry and how FMI adds ...

  • Helping Us Hear What We Need to Hear

    May 15, 2023
    My 12-year-old daughter can detect the bells of the neighborhood ice cream truck ringing four blocks away, but somehow cannot manage to hear her parents four feet away telling her to take her laundry upstairs. It is not a physiological problem; it ...

  • Northgate Market in Cooking Up Change in the Community

    Mar 27, 2023
    Sometimes we don’t really grasp how one program, grounded by a local grocery store, and supported by an entire community, can impact the lives of so many until we get a chance to see that impact firsthand. What an honor when Northgate Gonzalez ...

  • Addressing Your Most Pressing Challenge: Talent

    Mar 21, 2023
    According to The Food Retailing Industry Speaks 2022 report, workforce and talent top the list of challenges facing the food industry. With a turnover rate of 48% among food retailers and a 29% turnover rate for suppliers, it’s easy to understand ...

  • Mitigating Labor Shortage and Workforce Challenges Through Employee Satisfaction

    Mar 7, 2023
    Developing employee satisfaction is the secret ingredient of employee management. It takes a complicated mix of modern leadership, coaching, training and engagement, but the result is an employee that wants to stay at your company and ...

  • Six Imperative Issues Facing the Food Industry in 2023

    Feb 28, 2023
    The articles in this year’s Boardroom volume 8 reflect FMI’s Imperative Issues Framework. Boardroom continues to provide analysis and recommendations through the lens of the food industry's imperative issues – from supply chain and workforce ...

  • Recapping The Third Annual Supermarket Employee Day

    Feb 27, 2023
    Everyday supermarket employees work within their communities to ensure families and neighbors are fed and receive fresh wholesome products to support their health and well-being. In recent years, the world has acknowledged how truly essential these ...

  • Drumroll Please: Introducing the 2023 Class of FMI Store Manager Awards Nominees

    Feb 22, 2023
    In addition to celebrating the hardworking people who make up our industry, we want to pay special attention to the store managers who are the heartbeat of local supermarkets across the globe. These devoted leaders embody their company’s vision and ...

  • Creative Ways to Find and Keep Meat Retail Staff

    Feb 13, 2023
    The labor squeeze has hit many industries over the past two years, causing employers to rethink how to entice new workers and retain existing ones. In the meat industry – which has often challenging environments and tasks that require specific ...

  • Celebrating Our Supermarket Heroes

    Feb 2, 2023
    February 22nd marks the annual Supermarket Employee Day, a special day dedicated to recognizing and celebrating the hard-working individuals that keep supermarkets running. As a grocery store employer, this is your day to shine and show your ...

  • Five Ways To Be A Better Manager In The Food Industry

    Jan 27, 2023
    In 2021, the food retail industry experienced 48% turnover in their overall retail workforce. While retailers have engaged in a number of programs to decrease turnover such as offering better wages/salaries, improved benefits, training/skills ...

  • 3 Easy Ways to Jumpstart Your Plans for Supermarket Employee Day 2.22.23

    Jan 9, 2023
    There are more than 40,000 stores that sell food and grocery items in the U.S. alone. Millions of supermarket employees come to work daily to keep shelves stocked and to provide communities with essential services that help them survive and ...

  • Amazingly Resilient, Deeply Caring: A Leadership Perspective from Anthony Hucker, Southeastern Grocers

    Dec 19, 2022
    FMI Midwinter Executive Conference Chair, Anthony Hucker, president and chief executive officer, Southeastern Grocers Inc. (SEG), reflects on his own experiences and the ways he upholds his commitment to putting people first in this turbulent ...