By: Sue Borra, Chief Health and Wellness Officer for FMI and Executive Director of the FMI Foundation
The countdown has officially begun for FMI’s Midwinter Executive Conference, and so it is time to catch up with Randy Edeker, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer for Hy-Vee, Inc. and the chairman of the FMI Foundation Board of Trustees to discuss the new Foundation fundraising event, Stir It Up!
What was your initial vision for the new design of the FMI Foundation’s principal fundraiser?
Edeker: Stir It Up! was designed to celebrate family meals and bring attention to the FMI Foundation campaign, National Family Meals Month™. Retailers and suppliers will face off in a contest to see who can create the best family meal and highlight the importance of family meals to our industry. As the FMI Foundation Chairman, I’m delighted to offer a friendly challenge to my retail and supplier colleagues to support the Foundation and to participate at the Executive Chef level. I am extremely pleased that Joe Sheridan of Wakefern Food Corporation, Al Carey of PepsiCo, Inc. North America and Sandy Douglas of Coca-Cola North America have accepted this challenge.
What will be the highlight of the event for you and your team?
Edeker: The highlight of the event for me will be the opportunity to feature the culinary expertise at Hy-Vee, Inc. Our corporate chefs take great pride in providing prepared meals throughout our stores and are excited about this opportunity. I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but I am also looking forward to unveiling Hy-Vee’s family meal menu.
What are your goals for Stir It Up?
Edeker: Along with looking forward to the friendly cooking competition, I know this event will showcase the culinary talent in our industry. The event promises to be an evening of networking and fun. And most of all, my goal is to raise $1,000,000 to support the important work of the FMI Foundation in the areas of food safety, nutrition and health, and National Family Meals Month™. I offer my heartfelt thanks to the more than 35 companies who have already signed up to participate as of mid-December. Your generous support has resulted in more than $735,000 in pledges, so we are well on our way to reach this goal.
Any other thoughts you want to share?
Edeker: I’m thrilled to share this night with my team and colleagues throughout the food retail industry. I believe that together we can positively impact not only our industry’s health, but the collective well -being of the millions of consumers we serve each day.
Sign up today for Stir It Up! This casual dine-around event will be held on Sunday evening, January 29, 2017 in Scottsdale, AZ.
