Acosta, Olean Celebrate Co-op’s 90th Anniversary With Luncheon

Representatives from Acosta Sales and Marketing paid a visit to Olean Wholesale Grocery Cooperative on July 20 and provided a luncheon for the entire office staff in celebration of the cooperative’s 90th anniversary.

“Acosta has never lost their focus on providing the highest level of service in our industry, they are a top quality business partner,” said Olean President and CEO Jim Ried.

In the featured photo at top, from left: John Bari, Acosta client team leader; Bob Haveron, Acosta business manager; Al Sapphire, Acosta VP of customer teams; Pete Telis, Acosta business manager; Sean Donavon, Olean Wholesale Grocery Cooperative director of center store sales; John Cleary, Acosta business manager; Scott McCann, Olean director of center store purchasing; and Roseanne Wagner, Acosta business manager.

Stater Bros. Opening New Hesperia Store On Aug. 1

San Bernardino, Calif.-based Stater Bros. will open its newest and most modern supermarket in Hesperia on Wednesday, Aug. 1. A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held in the parking lot at 8 a.m., and the new Stater Bros. Hesperia supermarket will open for business at 8:30 a.m. After Wednesday, the new Supermarket will be open daily from 6 a.m.-11 p.m.

Located at 16904 Main St. in the Mid Town Square Shopping Center, the new Hesperia supermarket will replace a smaller Stater Bros. Supermarket located nearby at 17255 Main Street, which will close July 31. By creating an additional 50 local store-level jobs, this new supermarket demonstrates Stater Bros.’ commitment to the Hesperia community it has served for over 35 years, since 1977, according to a news release.

In celebration of the grand opening, Stater Bros. Charities will make donations to the Hesperia Police Department for the Police Activities League, the Sultana High School Band, who will perform at the ribbon cutting ceremony, the Hesperia Library, and to Feed My Sheep community food pantry.

At 56,586 s.f., the new state-of-the-art and environmentally friendly Hesperia Stater Bros. Supermarket is more than twice the size of the current supermarket with wider aisles and nearly double the amount of parking spaces. Stater Bros. also operates two other supermarkets in Hesperia at 15757 Main St. and at 14466 Main St.

The new Hesperia Stater Bros. Supermarket will feature:

• Full Service Fresh Meat Department with Stater Bros. butchers to assists customers;

• Full Service Fresh Seafood Department with experts to help with selection plus capability to season and fry on the spot;

• Full Service Deli and Cafe including fried and baked chicken, stone fired pizzas, taco plates, salsa bar and more;

• Full Service Tortilleria featuring Manuela’s corn tortillas made fresh daily and freshly prepared tortilla chips;

• Full Service Hot Bakery with a full selection of Pan Dulce breads and rolls, plus Tres Leche and special occasion cakes;

• Full Service Floral Department for that special gift of fresh flowers, plants or floral arrangements; and

• Garden Fresh Produce Department featuring more than 800 items with expanded organic selections.

The new Stater Bros. Hesperia supermarket also will include environmentally friendly practices:

• Addition of LED lighting in building signage and refrigerated display cases plus use of glass doors and curtains in refrigerated cases that reduces energy usage by 60 percent;

• New lighting system that uses dimming ballasts, energy efficient lamps and occupancy sensors;

• Energy Management System that controls refrigeration, HVAC, Demand Response and lighting;

• Recycling Center located inside for customers to recycle paper and plastic grocery bags; and

• Earth-conscious alternatives such as large grocery bags made with 100 percent recycled paper and reusable bags for purchase.

Jack H. Brown, chairman and CEO of Stater Bros., said, “The Stater Bros. Supermarket family is especially proud to build this new, modern and environmentally friendly Stater Bros. Supermarket to better serve our long-time and valued Hesperia customers, who will be the first to experience Manuela’s fresh corn tortillas from our-first ever Tortilleria.”

Stater Bros. was founded in 1936 in Yucaipa and has grown steadily through the years to become the largest privately owned supermarket chain in Southern California and the largest private employer in both San Bernardino and Riverside counties. The company currently operates 167 supermarkets, and there are more than 18,000 members of the Stater Bros. Supermarket family.

Nestlé USA Appoints Hannah Coan New VP Of Corporate, Brand Affairs

Nestlé USA has named Hannah Coan its new VP of corporate and brand affairs. Coan’s appointment follows the retirement of Laurie MacDonald who joined Nestlé in 1985 working in the nutritional products division before joining corporate and brand affairs.

Coan most recently was SVP of Waggener Edstrom Public Relations, where she led communications for Microsoft’s office division. Prior to this, Coan was EVP and managing director of Publicis Consultants PR in Seattle, Wash. She was the team leader for numerous Nestlé public relations programs, working with integrated teams on many Nestlé brands in the United States including Lean Cuisine®, Stouffer’s®, Buitoni®, Mighty Dog®, Fancy Feast®, Wonka®, Gerber® and Nespresso®. Coan will be responsible for Nestle USA’s internal and external communications, public affairs, as well as the Culinary Center based in Glendale, Calif.

Scott Remy, COO of Nestlé USA, said, “Hannah Coan brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to Nestlé USA, and we look forward to having her build on the strong foundation established by her predecessor.”

California Communities Get Year-Round Access To Healthy Foods

Thousands of families across California will soon have easier access to essential foods for a healthy life as the result of grants awarded by The California FreshWorks Fund (CFWF), administered by NCB Capital Impact. The $105,100 in grants are designed to create new access to healthy foods, and are awarded to: The Community Development Foundation of Los Angeles County in North Long Beach; Heritage Education Group in Compton; and Mandela Marketplace in West Oakland.

“Kaiser Permanente is proud to be a founding member of the California FreshWorks Fund,” said Benjamin Chu, MD, MPH, MACP, group president for Kaiser Permanente Southern California and Kaiser Permanente Hawaii. “This grant demonstrates our commitment to total health by supporting environmental changes that improve the health of the communities we serve, making the healthier choice an easier choice.”

The California FreshWorks Fund is a loan and grant fund that has raised $264 million to invest in bringing grocery stores and other healthy food retail to underserved communities. CFWF grants are funded with the support of Kaiser Permanente and The California Endowment.

“Today, more than one million California residents need to drive over 20 minutes from their homes to buy fresh produce, and most don’t or can’t do it,” said Scott Sporte, chief lending officer at NCB Capital Impact. “These investments build on innovative healthy eating initiatives and will help more families shop closer to home for foods that can help them live healthier, happier lives.”

The Community Development Foundation of Los Angeles County (CDF) was granted funds to support the planning and launch of a year-round, weekly farmer’s market that will serve thousands of residents of the Carmelitos Public Housing Project and the surrounding community of North Long Beach.

“The FreshWorks Fund grant will help make it possible for 2,000 residents of the Carmelitos community, and surrounding North Long Beach area, to walk just steps from their homes to purchase fresh tomatoes, squash and other locally grown produce,” said Jennifer N. Blackwell-Trotter, executive director of the Community Development Foundation. “Additionally, all farmers and the market manager will be hired locally.”

CDF will use the FreshWorks Fund grant to obtain expert feasibility analysis and consulting services for the initial launch scheduled for late summer 2012. Additionally, funds will be used to purchase supplies and complete training and marketing activities.

Based on farmer’s markets in low-income communities in East Los Angeles, Whittier and South Whittier, the proposed market will include cooking and nutrition programming, and accept non-traditional forms of payment, such as EBT, Farmers Market Nutrition Program WIC and senior vouchers.

The Heritage Education Group (HEG) received a grant to support a portion of start up costs for a year-round farmer’s market in Compton, Los Angeles County. The market will be held on the grounds of Davis Middle School. HEG has a proven track record running successful farmer’s markets in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods in the Inland Empire, and has created a unique voucher program that increases the purchasing power of low-income families for local, fresh produce.

The Compton market will partner with the Compton Unified School District, which is working with HEG to make healthy foods more available to its students, families and the surrounding community.

“Funding and partnering with the FreshWorks Fund, provides small organizations such as the Heritage Education Group opportunities to do the greatest good for our communities in need. Simply put, it allows us to feed our people,” said Bing Turner, co-founder and board chairman of Heritage Education Group.

A third award was made to Mandela Marketplace to support a comprehensive business analysis of its operations and potential expansion for the Mandela Food Cooperative (MFC), a worker-owned fresh food store. MFC is the first retail outlet of any kind to focus on offering healthy food in West Oakland, and Mandela Marketplace is working to develop local wealth and alternative direct-from-farmer food supply chains.

Mandela Marketplace is one of two organizations focused on developing healthy food retail in West Oakland; the other is People’s Community Market. CFWF provided a grant to People’s Community Market to support its development of a 12,000-s.f., small-format fresh food store in February.

In the featured photo at top: Workers and owners outside their Mandela Food Cooperative, a worker-owned fresh food store.

David Harris Promoted to CFO of Stater Bros. Markets

Jack H. Brown, chairman of the board and CEO of Stater Bros. Markets, has announced the promotion of David Harris to the position of SVP of finance, CFO and principal accounting officer of San Bernardino, Calif.-based Stater Bros. Markets, effective June 18.

David Harris

Harris joined Stater Bros. in 2009 as VP of finance. In June 2011, he was promoted to his most recent position of SVP of finance. He has more than 28 years of accounting, auditing and business advisory experience. Harris was a partner with Ernst & Young in Riverside and Irvine and served as the managing partner of the Riverside Office of Ernst & Young prior to its consolidation with the Irvine office. He also served as a partner with Soren McAdam Christenson LLP in Redlands.

Harris will report to Brown.

“I am confident that Dave will do an excellent job in his new position, where he is responsible for all the financial areas of the company,” said Brown. “I have known Dave and he has been familiar with Stater Bros. for over 18 years. His extensive background in accounting and his leadership abilities will be very valuable to the continued growth of the company.”

Harris currently serves as treasurer on the board of directors of Children’s Fund of San Bernardino County and previously served as chairman of the board. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and is a certified public accountant.

Retired NFL Player, Kellogg’s Spokesman Tomlinson Speaks To CAGEF Golf Rally Attendees

LaDainian Tomlinson, who recently retired from NFL football and now serves as a spokesperson for Kellogg’s, spoke to attendees of the California Grocers Association Education Foundation (CGAEF) golf rally at Pacific Palms Resort in Los Angeles last week.

Tomlinson ended his 11-year NFL career in June the same way he started it—with the San Diego Chargers, The Associated Press reports.

Tomlinson had signed a one-day contract with the Chargers on June 18 and then announced his retirement.

“It wasn’t because I didn’t want to play anymore. It was simply time to move on,” Tomlinson said.

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Tomlinson rushed for 13,684 yards, fifth all-time, and scored 162 touchdowns, third-most ever. His 145 rushing touchdowns are second-most in history. He also passed for seven touchdowns.

Just as importantly, he helped the Chargers dig out from one of their worst stretches to become a force in the AFC West. He played his first nine seasons with San Diego and the last two years with the New York Jets.

Tomlinson, who turned 33 on June 24, said he knew at the end of last season that he’d probably retire. He said he was still physically capable of playing but mentioned the mental toll it takes to play at a high level.

Tomlinson didn’t shed any tears, as he did two years ago after being released by the Chargers.

Tomlinson recalled the news conference in 2006 when former teammate Junior Seau announced his first retirement.

“He said, ‘I’m graduating today.’ I’ve been playing football 20-some years and so at some point it almost seems like school every year where you sacrifice so much and there is so much you put on the line, mentally and physically, with your body, everything,” Tomlinson said. “So today, I take the words of Junior Seau: I feel like I’m graduating. I really do, because I’ve got my life ahead of me, I’m healthy, I’m happy with a great family and I’m excited to now be a fan and watch you guys play.”

Seau, who committed suicide on May 2, came out of retirement a few times to play for the New England Patriots.

Tomlinson said this is it for him.

Tomlinson said he has special memories even though the Chargers never got to the Super Bowl during his time with them.

His most memorable moment with San Diego came on Dec. 10, 2006, when he swept into the end zone late in a game against the Denver Broncos for his third touchdown of the afternoon to break Shaun Alexander’s year-old record of 28 touchdowns.

His linemen hoisted him onto their shoulders and carried him toward the sideline, with Tomlinson holding the ball high in his right hand and waving his left index finger, while the fans chanted “L.T.! L.T.!” and “MVP! MVP!”

Tomlinson was voted NFL MVP that season, when he set league single-season records with 31 touchdowns, including 28 rushing, and 186 points.

In the featured photo at top:LaDainian Tomlinson, who recently retired from NFL football and now serves as a spokesperson for Kellogg’s, spoke to attendees of the California Grocers Association Education Foundation (CGAEF) golf rally at Pacific Palms Resort in Los Angeles last week.