Grocers Doing Good

By: David Fikes, Vice President, Consumer/Community Affairs and Communication, Food Marketing Institute

Pumpkin flavored everything is appearing on the shelves, Halloween costume debates are erupting, baseball season is winding down and football season is cranking up. It is definitely fall and that means it is time for FMI to once again shine the spotlight on the good that grocers are doing in their local communities across the country. The FMI Community Outreach Awards showcase the stories we don’t hear often enough—the ones that focus on how grocers give back to their communities and are maintaining the food retail tradition of serving their neighbors.

We’ve learned a lot from the past four years of submissions and are compiling these creative acts of kindness - documenting this legacy of food retail community service in our nomination archive. Grocers have strengthened their communities with programs designed to keep kids busy and engaged; programs offering useful information about nutrition and health; and programs that assist those in marginalized or economically fragile situations-often manifested as not knowing where their next meal is coming from. Last year, for the first time, we took these stories to social media and asked our followers to help us pick a program to further showcase. The response was overwhelming and the pride and appreciation communities have for the good that grocers do was moving.

As a grocer doing good, we invite you to nominate your community outreach program for recognition and the chance to win a $1,000 donation to deepen the reach of your program. Awards are given in the following categories: 

• Youth Development Programs - education, employment, job readiness, mentoring/tutoring programs

• Programs Addressing Food Insecurity - food drives, food bank donations, commitments to increase access to fresh food in underserved areas

• Neighborhood Health Improvement Programs - nutrition education, blood drives, health related runs/walks, sustainability education and community involvement

• "People's Pick" Social Media Category - All submissions will be posted on FMI’s Facebook page and the community outreach nominee with the most likes after one week will also be awarded a $1,000 contribution to their program.

Nominations are due October 23. For more details and to nominate your program visit: www.fmi.org/CommunityOutreach. Join the conversation online with #GrocersDoingGood and thank you for all the good you do.