Tag: supermarkets and groceries

An A to Z of the top foods and drinks Australians love most — Vegemite included | CNN

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CNN
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There are countless things about our homeland that Australians miss after moving abroad: the magnificent landscape, the laid-back lifestyle and that endless blue sky, to name a few.

But something as simple as a trip to the supermarket can leave us expats – according to some reports there are an estimated one million of us – feeling desperately homesick.

With its long history of immigration, Australia is quite literally a melting pot of cuisines.

While some foods are the result of cultural influences such as the Chiko Roll, others are uniquely Aussie, like Golden Gaytime ice cream.

And who could forget the most famous of them all, Vegemite, which turns 100 on October 25.

According to the National Museum of Australia, it was invented by chemist CP Callister in Melbourne in 1923 when Australian food manufacturer Fred Walker asked him to create a product similar to British Marmite.

“During the Second World War, Vegemite captured the Australian market. Marmite was unobtainable and the Australian Army supplied Vegemite to its troops,” says the museum in a post highlighting defining symbols of Australia.

“In the 1950s and 60s, despite acquisition by the American company Kraft, Vegemite became a distinctively ‘Australian’ food. It featured in songs, on souvenirs and other popular culture ephemera. Vegemite returned to Australian ownership in 2017 when purchased by dairy company Bega.”

More on this famed brown spread below as we round up the A-Z of Aussie favorites:

Introduced in 1927, this simple dessert is an Australian classic.

Every Australian child grew up singing the famous 1930s jingle: “I like Aeroplane Jelly, Aeroplane Jelly for me!”

The brand’s “Bertie the Aeroplane” mascot was named after inventor Bert Appleroth – a Sydney tram driver who is said to have made the first batch in his bathtub.

Although now owned by an American company, Aeroplane Jelly has hardly changed since grandma was a girl.

Sure, there are plenty of brands of jelly available worldwide, but when it comes time to make a trifle or treat for the kids, Aussie parents can’t resist this familiar favorite.

An Australian variety of mango that isn’t grown anywhere else in the world, the Bowen is considered the best of the best.

It was first discovered in the northern Queensland town of Bowen, hence the name, but is also known as Kensington Pride.

Bigger and juicer than other varieties, Bowen mangoes account for 80% of mangoes produced in Australia. Some are exported but arguably not enough for the huge number of mango-loving expats.

To Aussies, mangoes are the taste of summer. No matter where we are in the world, the craving for a Bowen mango usually kicks in around Christmas.

This strange little deep-fried snack has been an Australian icon since 1950 when it was first sold by an enterprising boilermaker at football games.

Inspired by Chinese spring rolls, the exact recipe is a little unclear but the combination of meat, veg and some unknown spices hits the spot.

Best consumed with a couple of potato scallops and a soft drink, the Chiko Roll is the go-to for tradies on their lunch break or those 3 a.m. munchies on your way home from the pub.

And the only place to get them is a typical Aussie takeaway joint.

Dukkah – a humble blend of crushed Middle Eastern spices, herbs and nuts from Egypt – has been embraced by Australian foodies.

Its versatility is one of the reasons this condiment is so popular. Dukkah can be used as a garnish, a coating on a piece of meat or mixed with olive oil as a dip for bread.

A number of producers have given the basic dukkah recipe an Australian twist by adding native ingredients, such as lemon myrtle, macadamia nuts, wattleseed, saltbush and pepperleaf.

Expats can find many variations in Australian supermarkets and, fortunately, they’re often sold in packets small enough to sneak into a suitcase.

Australia is one of the few countries where it is considered perfectly acceptable to eat the coat of arms.

Exceptionally lean and gamey, emu and kangaroo tend to be popular among adventurous chefs in Australia.

But when living abroad, neither is easy to get your hands on.

A number of restaurants and specialty butchers offer native meats, but the expense involved in raising emus, in particular, means it’s harder to come by.

Thanks to the influx of Greek and Italian immigrants who brought “proper coffee” to Australia post WWII, we have become a nation of coffee snobs.

The flat white is almost Aussie enough to be called the national drink.

All over the world, café goers and baristas have been confounded as Aussie expats seek out their favorite brew abroad.

With less milk than a latte and without the froth of a cappuccino, the flat white requires special attention (it’s all in the pouring).

One of the first questions asked on expat forums: “Where can I get a decent flat white in this town?”

And it’s usually the first thing ordered at the airport café when back on home soil.

Ice creams feature highly on the most-wanted lists of expats, so it’s only natural we highlight them here.

Milky Paddle Pops and fruity Splice have been popular summer treats since the 1960s.

Likewise, Weis Bars have also been around for more than 60 years, and the mango and cream concoctions invoke memories of lazy summer afternoons.

But the number one, the crème de la crème, is the Golden Gaytime – a vanilla and toffee ice cream coated in chocolate and dipped in crunchy biscuit pieces that has inspired many a replica over the years.

While the burger itself is not an Australian invention, we have added some unconventional ingredients that make the Aussie version truly memorable.

Take the essentials – a beef patty, cheese, tomato, lettuce, grilled onions, tomato sauce (ketchup) – and add beetroot, pineapple, a fried egg and bacon, and you have yourself a massive mouthful.

A quick online search reveals variations that include pickled beetroot and spicy mayo, among others, but the classic Aussie burger celebrates simplicity.

It’s easy enough to replicate at home, but nothing beats the experience of ducking into the local milk-bar (café), or fish and chip shop, to enjoy a burger and a milkshake after a day at the beach.

The Iced VoVo – a biscuit covered in pink fondant, raspberry jam and shredded coconut – is a national treasure.

Produced by Arnott’s since the early 1900s, the iconic treat was mentioned by former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in his victory speech after the 2007 election, leading to a spike in sales.

“Friends, tomorrow, the work begins. You can have a strong cup of tea if you want, even an Iced VoVo on the way through. But the celebration stops there,” Rudd said.

Not often found for sale overseas, this sweet treat is one to enjoy with a cup of tea when you’re home visiting mum.

Ask any Australian expat what they miss most about ‘home’ and their list is sure to include at least one type of junk food – the absence of which is felt most keenly at kids’ birthday parties.

Allen’s Lollies (candy) have been around for decades and Minties, Fantales, Jaffas, Snakes and the Classic Party Mix remain as popular as ever.

The Aussie public doesn’t seem to mind that they are all owned by Nestlé, which is headquartered in Switzerland.

Fairy Bread – essentially white bread covered in butter and sprinkles – is another party staple that manages to be devoid of nutrition but highly nostalgic.

On return trips to Australia, expats are known to bulk-buy chocolate bars like Cadbury Cherry Ripes, Caramello Koalas and ever-popular Violet Crumbles.

When it comes to savory junk foods, Smith’s Chips, cheesy Twisties and Nobby’s nuts are synonymous with snacking – and nothing produced overseas comes close.

We tend to lump all Middle Eastern meat-and-pita combos under the heading of “kebab” and be done with it.

Of course, there are subtle differences between doner kebabs, shawarma, souvlaki, and gyros – in both ingredients and quality – depending on the source.

Connoisseurs agree that pork gyros (Greek flatbread filled with rotisserie-roasted meat) found in more legitimate venues around Australia are the best.

Consider the sauce dripping down the front of your shirt an essential part of the experience.

Proving that Aussies love anything with jam and coconut, the lamington is the country’s favorite cake.

Named after Lord Lamington, Queensland’s eighth governor, these delightful squares of sponge cake – dipped in chocolate and coated with coconut – have become nothing short of a culinary icon.

There are entire websites (and an Australian Lamington Appreciation Society) devoted to the origins of the lamington and how to make them. Achieving the right ratio of chocolate, jam and coconut is essential.

There are pies, and then there are Aussie meat pies.

Synonymous with afternoons at the football pitch, brands like Four ‘N Twenty and Vili’s have cornered the market for mass-produced pies.

Small local outfits (like the Bemboka Pie Shop and Harry’s Café de Wheels) are institutions in their own right.

Everyone has a favorite type, whether it’s shepherd’s pie, a floater with peas, cheese and bacon or straight-up meat.

The only requirement? The pie is served piping hot with tomato sauce … and eaten one-handed.

With Four ‘N Twenty now exporting to the United States and parts of Asia, some expats can get their pie fix without venturing too far.

Australia’s love affair with Asian food is no secret, and our northern neighbors strongly influence what we put on our plates.

Even Aussies living in Asia admit to craving “Aussie Chinese” or “Aussie Thai” – dishes that give a nod to the original but are not as authentic as the real thing. In fact, some would say they’re potentially even better.

We’d argue the fresh, high-quality produce and quality meats available in Australia bring out the best in Asian dishes.

It’s fair to say that oysters are an acquired taste, but for those with a penchant for the salty mollusks, Australia produces some of the best in the world.

You’ll find two main species in Aussie waters: rock oysters and Pacific.

As bivalves, oysters filter the water around them and their location dictates their flavor.

The pristine waters along Australia’s coastline provide the perfect conditions for oysters, and they rarely need any accompaniment.

There’s nothing quite like eating these slippery snacks straight off the rocks – export just doesn’t do them justice.

The origins of this meringue-based dessert are hotly contested.

Recent research suggests that the Pav didn’t come from the antipodes at all, but nevertheless it remains a firm favorite.

Meringue, cream and plenty of fruit are the key ingredients, though there are no hard and fast rules about what has to be included.

Expats living in tropical climes often bemoan how challenging it is to get a decent meringue, given humid weather can turn it soft and sticky, so Pavlova is a rare treat.

Q: Quandong and quince

Both the native quandong and the foreign quince lend themselves to some of our favorite condiments and desserts.

Similar to a wild peach, the quandong is incredibly versatile and nutritious and can be made into juice, jam, filling for pies or eaten raw.

The quince is a relative of the apple and pear, and while several varieties are grown commercially in Australia the fruit is best known as the star in Maggie Beer’s quince paste – the only way to eat soft cheese.

Bundaberg Rum, to be more specific. Or just Bundy, as it’s known to locals.

This Australian beverage was created way back in 1888 to deal with an oversupply of molasses in Queensland’s sugarcane region.

Producers believe that it’s the sugar, grown in volcanic soil, that gives Bundy its distinct, rich flavor.

The distillery produces 60,000 bottles a day and the factory was the subject of a National Geographic documentary in 2013.

To say this drop has cult status would be an understatement.

There are so many foods starting with S – smashed avocado, SAO biscuits, sausages – that could represent the land down under.

But Australia’s best produce comes from the sea and expats fondly reminisce about mornings spent at the fish markets picking up the catch of the day before special occasions.

While we’re known to “throw a shrimp on the barbie” there are some creatures that are far more popular.

Barramundi, Balmain or Moreton Bay bugs, abalone, and of course, prawns are just some of the native seafood worth queuing for.

Technically a junk food, Tim Tam biscuits are so famous, so overwhelmingly popular, that they deserve their own spot on this list.

The original Tim Tams are the best: A chocolate-coated sandwich of two malted chocolate biscuits with chocolate cream filling.

Arnott’s, the manufacturers, now export to more than 40 countries around the world, so you can get your fix whether you’re skiing the slopes of Niseko, in Japan, or catching rays on a Tahitian beach.

Uncle Tobys began producing oats way back in 1893. But it wasn’t until the 1970s, when convenience foods started hitting the shelves, that they developed their now famous muesli bars.

The ultimate lunchbox treat or after-school snack, kids had the luxury of choosing not only the flavor, but also the texture.

Many a playground war has been fought over which was best – crunchy or chewy. For the record, we’re firmly in the crunchy camp.

These days the range has grown to include yoghurt and choc-chip toppings. There’s even a lamington flavor.

Tastes like: an Aussie icon turns 100! 🥳

No round-up of Aussie foods would be complete without this ubiquitous salty brown spread, which turns 100 on October 25.

Twenty million jars of Vegemite are sold each year – that’s one for every Australian citizen.

Now owned by Bega Cheese, there was great joy when the icon returned to Australian ownership several years ago.

No one else quite understands the appeal of our favorite toast topping.

For those living in countries where it’s not yet exported, Vegemite comes in massive 560 gram jars and travel-sized tubes.

While there are similar cereals available around the world, there’s nothing quite like “Australia’s favorite breakfast.”

These small biscuits made from wholegrain wheat are occasionally available in supermarkets overseas, but they generally sell out pretty quickly.

Aussie mums have been known to stock up on them on trips to the motherland.

Best eaten with a little bit of sugar, some chopped banana and a lot of milk, Weet-Bix is promoted as family-friendly health food. But we’d love them even if they weren’t good for us.

Another product of sunny Queensland, XXXX (pronounced four-ex) originated in Victoria in 1878 before moving north, where it is still produced today.

XXXX has endeared itself to Aussies as a great brew and a big supporter of sports and small communities.

It’s not widely available outside of Australia, but if you’re an expat in China or Dubai, you may be able to find it in a bar near you.

Small freshwater crustaceans, yabbies are similar to lobsters – both prized as delicacies.

They’re hardy little creatures, and if you grew up on a farm chances are you spent your summers fishing for yabbies in the local creek.

Yabbies have a lot of meat on them, mostly in the tail and claws, and it tastes sweet and succulent when cooked right.

Expats might find these clawed crustaceans in restaurants, but you’re unlikely to find them in your local supermarket.

The zucchini fritter is yet another delicious byproduct of immigration.

Depending on who you ask, they’re either Turkish and served with yogurt, or Greek, in which case they come with tzatziki.

Either way, olive oil should ooze out when you take a bite.

In some parts of Australia, you can find zucchini fritters at a local takeaway, next to the potato scallops and Chiko Rolls.

These fried pancakes may have more health benefits than your average fried snack, but they are no less delicious.

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October 24, 2023
2 cheerleaders were shot in a Texas supermarket parking lot after one opened the door to the wrong vehicle. A suspect is under arrest | CNN

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CNN
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Two teenage cheerleaders were shot after one said she mistook the suspect’s vehicle for her own in a supermarket parking lot near Texas’ capital – making this at least the third incident this week in which young people who’d made an apparent mistake were met with gunfire.

Authorities arrested Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr., 25, the man they say shot the two teens. He was taken into custody early Tuesday, the Elgin Police Department said in a news release later that morning.

According to a probable cause document, Tello is accused of deadly conduct with a firearm, a third-degree felony. He is being held on a $500,000 bond. It was not immediately clear whether he has an attorney.

Officers responding just after midnight Tuesday to an H-E-B supermarket parking lot found two people in a vehicle who’d been struck by bullets, police said, citing preliminary reports. One with serious injuries was rushed by helicopter to a hospital and was in critical condition, while the other was treated at the scene, the release said.

The latter girl had gotten out of a friend’s car and opened the door to a vehicle she thought was hers, only to find a man sitting in the passenger seat, she said during a livestreamed prayer vigil Tuesday night at her cheer team’s gym, CNN affiliate KTRK reported.

Heather Roth said she was trying to apologize to the man when he got out of the passenger door.

“He just threw his hands up, and then he pulled out a gun and he just started shooting at all of us,” Roth said, fighting tears.

Lynne Shearer, managing partner of the Woodlands Elite Cheer Company, told CNN the Roth and fellow cheerleader Payton Washington fled immediately in their car.

“As soon as they saw the gun, they said go and they drove and they went about two miles down the road,” Shearer told CNN. “And that’s when they realized that Payton was seriously hurt and they pulled over once they realized that guy wasn’t following them because Payton was … throwing up blood at that point. So they, that’s when they called 911.”

Washington was shot twice and badly injured, according to a GoFundMe spearheaded by her cheerleading team, the Woodlands Elite Generals. Washington is stable and recovering in the ICU, according to the team.

Roth was struck by a bullet but was treated and released at the scene, Shearer said.

Washington is “doing well today” after suffering from a ruptured spleen, which was removed, and she has damage to her pancreas and diaphragm, Shearer said Wednesday.

“Her stomach is not closed up yet and they are keeping her on heavy antibiotics for at least 48 hours to hopefully fight off infection,” she said. “Once they are sure there is no infection, they will go back in and finish up any issues and close her up.”

In another interview with CNN, Shearer said Washington should make a full recovery and has been FaceTiming with her friends.

Roth and Washington are from the Austin and Round Rock area and were commuting in a carpool to a cheerleading gym in Oak Ridge North, a Houston suburb, three times a week.

The commute is about 300 miles round trip – a commute Washington has been doing for eight years, Shearer said.

Roth is in college, while the other three girls in the vehicle, including Washington, are in high school.

Washington, a senior who had committed to Baylor University’s Acrobatics and Tumbling team, was born with only one lung and “has surpassed many obstacles to rise to the very top of her sport,” Shearer said.

“Payton is a strong young lady; if you know her, you know that about her,” Baylor head acrobatics and tumbling coach Felecia Mulkey told CNN. “I have no doubt she’s going to get through this.”

After visiting Roth on Tuesday, Mulkey said all things considered, she looked great and is making good progress – but acknowledged there’s still a long way to go on her path to recovery.

Mulkey described Roth as an “amazing athlete but a better human.”

“I know mental wounds also leave scars,” she said. “We want to lift up the athletes and their families during this difficult time. We love Payton and we wish her well as she recovers.”

Shearer said her team is busy still trying to prepare for the World Championships this weekend in Orlando, which Roth still plans to compete in.

Tuesday’s shooting was yet another case this week in which young people were shot after apparently going to the wrong place, including a 16-year-old struck in the head after ringing the wrong doorbell in Kansas City and a 20-year-old killed by the owner of a home whose driveway she’d inadvertently turned into.

The United States is the only nation with more civilian guns than people, with about 120 guns for every 100 Americans, according to the Small Arms Survey. Elgin is a city of some 10,000 people about a half-hour drive east of Austin.

A supermarket manager witnessed the incident, and police have surveillance footage from the parking lot that shows the license plate on the suspect’s car, police said, according to the probable cause affidavit.

“Elgin Detectives contacted Pedro Tello at the residence. Pedro Tello was still wearing the clothing that was observed by Elgin Detectives in the surveillance footage,” the affidavit states.

Four Woodland Elite Cheer athletes were “involved in a horrific incident” on their way home from practice Monday night, the cheerleading and tumbling company said in a Facebook post.

“We are asking for your prayers,” it said.

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April 19, 2023
What Walmart’s pullback from Chicago says about Corporate America’s limits | CNN Business

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New York
CNN
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A line of Chicago mayors heavily courted Walmart over the last two decades, brushing aside community protests. And Walmart welcomed the opportunity to show cities it could be a strong corporate partner.

But now, Walmart is pulling back from Chicago.

The largest retailer in the country announced plans this week to close four of its eight stores in the city, citing growing financial losses. Three are in predominantly Black and low-income neighborhoods, and their closures with little warning mean residents — including elderly citizens and people without reliable transportation — will have to travel further to buy groceries and pick up their medications.

“These stores lose tens of millions of dollars a year, and their annual losses nearly doubled in just the last five years,” Walmart said. Despite years of different strategies, the company said, it did not see a route to profitability for these stores. Walmart, which made $20.6 billion in 2022, did not specify why losses were growing in Chicago.

City leaders “used a lot of political capital and their trust were questioned, Now it’s kind of like, ‘I told you so,’” said Chicago Alderman-Elect Ronnie Mosley, who will represent a Chicago ward where one of the Walmarts is set to close. His predecessor, who is retiring, was a major proponent of drawing Walmart to Chicago.

Mayors and key political leaders had pushed to draw Walmart, despite protests from small businesses, labor groups and community activists. Critics pointed to studies that suggested a Walmart presence could push out mom-and-pop stores and drive down wages, as it had in smaller towns.

But, at the time, officials argued opening Walmarts would provide jobs, economic development and convenient places to shop for affordable groceries and pharmacy services in some of the city’s low-income communities.

Meanwhile Walmart, which rose mainly in rural and suburban areas, also fought hard to enter Chicago. Walmart saw it as a twofold opportunity: broaden its customer base while proving to skeptical officials in other cities that it was a strong corporate partner.

The closures are another example of the shortcomings of local governments and even national political leaders betting on leading chains to provide key public services and fill gaps.

If government couldn’t provide for a populace in desperate need of jobs and fresh foods, the thinking went, for-profit corporations would.

But in Chicago, that’s not what happened. A 2012 study of Walmart’s impact in Chicago found businesses closer to Walmart were significantly more likely to close than similar businesses farther away — and the number of jobs lost by nearby retail competitors essentially offset the number of jobs created at the new Walmart stores.

This is a particular issue in predominantly minority, low-income areas that experience economic neglect, and other chains have recently shuttered stores in these areas as well.

Whole Foods closed in Chicago earlier this year, along with CVS, Aldi and Save A Lot. In 2019, Target closed two stores, angering residents. Chains like Dollar General and Family Dollar are expanding in low-income areas, but they don’t sell fresh groceries.

Unlike local government, which is theoretically accountable to voters, companies answer only to their shareholders and don’t have an obligation to stay in communities if they aren’t making a profit.

Whether it’s handing over responsibility for providing public bathrooms to Starbucks and McDonald’s or vaccines and basic health services to CVS and Walgreens, the public is left vulnerable when these companies’ business priorities change or they close locations.

“We have asked business to solve problems that we don’t want government to solve anymore,” said Bryant Simon, a professor of history at Temple University who studies the role of Corporate America and government. “We’re happy to have them do it and then shocked when they act like a business again.”

A similar strategy to rely on national chains to help remedy so-called “food deserts” was a focus on the national level during the Obama administration. It too fell short.

Walmart, Walgreens

(WBA), SuperValu and other store executives joined Michelle Obama at the White House in 2011 to announce a pledge to open a combined 1,500 stores in communities that have limited access to nutritious food by 2016.

But that effort stalled. The Associated Press found in 2015 that leading chains built just 250 new supermarkets in these areas.

“The assumption there is a single player in the nation that will work in every market is proving to not be true,” said Liz Abunaw, who founded Forty Acres Fresh Market, a startup grocer, in response to the lack of fresh food options on Chicago’s West Side. “Even in Chicago, the solutions differ by neighborhood.”

Placing a big chain in the middle of a struggling neighborhood is not an effective strategy alone, she said, and more holistic solutions are needed, including improving housing, jobs and public transportation: “It’s not one thing. All of those things go together.”

There also can be unintended consequences to chains opening in neighborhoods. Companies sometimes open, small retailers close – and then the chain closes, leaving a bigger void in some cases than when it first came in.

“The idea that Walmart did the city a great favor by moving in is highly debatable,” said David Merriman, a professor of public policy, management and analytics at the University of Illinois Chicago and co-author of the study of Walmart’s presence in Chicago.

Instead of relying on large companies to strengthen local economies, some experts say, another solution could be designing policies that better support smaller, family-owned supermarkets, co-operatives, and farmers’ markets such as Yellow Banana and ChiFresh Kitchen in Chicago.

“Their loss is one of the main reasons that communities lack grocery stores and other basic retail in the first place,” Abunaw said.

Despite stiff resistance from unions, grassroots groups and some local leaders in Chicago, Walmart has been embraced by the city’s last three mayors as an economic development model.

In 2006, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley issued a rare veto to override a City Council bill that required big-box stores such as Walmart to pay workers a $10 minimum wage. In 2013, Mayor Rahm Emanuel cut the ribbon on a new Walmart in an underserved neighborhood, saying it was “another example of a company seeing an alignment of what is good for their bottom line with what is good for our neighborhoods.”

In 2020, Mayor Lori Lightfoot held a press conference with Walmart CEO Doug McMillon to announce the company would expand its investment in the city following local and national protests over George Floyd’s murder by police.

But the company struggled in Chicago. Its mammoth superstores, which are designed for people to drive to and make big shopping trips, have been less suited for city residents who tend to make smaller but more frequent trips to supermarkets.

Walmart tried opening smaller stores, known as neighborhood markets, that serve mostly groceries — but these lower profit margins than other merchandise like electronics or clothing. Walmart is closing neighborhood markets around the country, and three of the four stores closing in Chicago fall into that category.

In Chicago, Walmart is closing in both low-income and high-income areas, a sign that it’s struggling across the city. But it’s the stores in low-income areas that will feel the loss most.

“We are in an area where CVS and Walgreens have closed,” Alderman-Elect Mosley said. “Walmart has become the de-facto” store and the closure is “traumatizing.”

“Walmart is leaving and they may be doing what’s best for them,” he said. “Now I have to figure out with our community what’s best for us.”

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April 15, 2023
Why UK supermarkets are rationing fruit and vegetables | CNN Business

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London
CNN
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Major UK supermarkets have started rationing the sale of some staple fruits and salad vegetables, blaming poor weather that has depressed production in Spain and north Africa.

Tesco

(TSCDF), the UK’s biggest supermarket, confirmed to CNN Wednesday that it had temporarily capped the number of packs of tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers to three per customer.

Asda told CNN that it was temporarily limiting purchases of some items to three packs per customer. These include tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and lettuce.

“Like other supermarkets, we are experiencing sourcing challenges on some products that are grown in southern Spain and north Africa,” an Asda spokesperson said.

Morrisons told CNN that it had imposed a cap of two packs per customer on tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and lettuce. Aldi, a German discount grocery chain, announced Wednesday that it would also introduce a limit of three packs per person on peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes in its UK stores.

Asda, Morrisons and Aldi are Britain’s third-, fourth- and fifth-biggest supermarket chains respectively, according to market share data from Kantar.

Sainsbury’s

(JSAIY), the United Kingdom’s second-largest food retailer, told CNN it had no plans to ration the sale of fruit and vegetables.

The rationing is another knock for British shoppers already grappling with record grocery price rises, which have inflamed the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades.

In the four weeks to January 22, food price inflation hit 16.7%, according to Kantar. That’s its highest level since the data company started tracking the indicator in 2008.

“The more we face shortages, the more it will drive food inflation,” Minette Batters, president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), which represents more than 46,000 farming and growing businesses, told the BBC Wednesday.

A spokesperson for the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said in a statement: “We understand public concerns around the supply of fresh vegetables. However, the UK has a highly resilient food supply chain and is well-equipped to deal with disruption.”

So what explains the empty shelves?

Asda and Morrisons pointed the finger at poor weather in key growing regions as the main driver of the shortages.

Andrew Woods, a sub-editor at Mintec, a commodities data company, told CNN that hotter-than-average weather in Spain and Morocco last fall, combined with a cold snap over the past two weeks, had hit production.

The tomato crop in southern Spain is 20% smaller than a year ago, he said.

The poorer harvests are problematic for UK retailers, reliant as they are on imports to fill their stocks at this time of year.

According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), a trade group, UK supermarkets import 95% of their tomatoes and 90% of their lettuce in December, and typically import the same proportions in March.

James Bailey, executive director of supermarket Waitrose, told LBC radio Monday that snow and hail in Spain, as well as hail in parts of north Africa, had “wip[ed] out a large proportion” of key crops.

The high-end supermarket chain told CNN that it was “monitoring the situation” but had no plans to introduce rationing.

“Give it about [two weeks] and the other growing seasons in other parts of the world will have caught up and we should be able to get that supply back in,” Bailey added.

The BRC also says it expects the current disruption to last a few weeks before home-grown produce arrives to fill the gaps on UK store shelves.

“Supermarkets are adept at managing supply chain issues and are working with farmers to ensure that customers are able to access a wide range of fresh produce,” Andrew Opie, the BRC’s director of food and sustainability, told CNN.

High input costs have contributed to the shortages of fruit and vegetables, the NFU says, as well as reduced production across the farming sector more broadly.

“Labor shortages and soaring energy prices are hitting the poultry industry, already reeling from avian influenza, as well as horticultural businesses and pig farms,” Batters said in a speech Tuesday.

The price of natural gas — a key input for nitrogen-based fertilizers — shot up following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. Though gas prices have fallen back in recent weeks, they are still triple their historical average, while fertilizer costs are up 169% since 2019, Batters noted.

According to the NFU, the production of tomatoes and cucumbers is expected to fall to the lowest levels since the union started keeping records in 1985, on the back of crippling input costs.

Woods at Mintec said processing and storing vegetables, such as tomatoes, was “energy intensive.”

Europe, too, has wrestled with many of the same problems in recent months.

“Across Europe, supplies [of tomatoes] are reportedly tight, and growers continue to grapple with higher fertilizer, energy and labor costs,” Mintec said in a note.

Yet, currently, there are few indications — in media reports or on social media — that retailers in other countries are rationing sales.

But Defra said in its statement Wednesday that “similar disruption is also being seen in other countries,” and that it was helping UK growers by expanding a visa scheme for seasonal workers to fill labor gaps.

UK supermarkets have not cited Brexit as a reason for the supply crunch. But the NFU and some campaign groups argue that it has worsened labor shortages.

Direct subsidy payments to UK farmers from the European Union are being phased out, which has increased uncertainty for farmers, Batters said in her speech. The United Kingdom plans to fully implement its own subsidy scheme by 2024.

— Julia Horowitz contributed reporting.

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February 22, 2023
Trader Joe’s asked customers to rank their nine top products. Here they are | CNN Business

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CNN
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Trader Joe’s asked its customers a simple question: If you were to spend the rest of your life on a deserted island, which nine Trader Joe’s products would you take with you?

More than 18,000 customers responded to its 14th annual survey ranking the grocery store’s most popular items in nine different categories.

There were some caveats this year: Gone from the running were five products that have won many times in the past (think Mandarin Orange Chicken and dark chocolate peanut butter cups), and instead are featured in its Product Hall of Fame.

The first Trader Joe’s opened in Pasadena, California, in 1967. Its founder Joe Coulombe (yes, Joe was a real guy), was a convenience store owner who wanted to open a grocery chain to appeal to a niche market of well-educated, well-traveled consumers. The idea led him to create a cult-favorite grocery empire.

Here are the products customers voted their favorites, in categories from cheese to entrees.

Chili & Lime Flavored Rolled Tortilla Chips, spicy corn chips, swept the competition this year, taking home the top prize. Runners-up included the hash browns, chicken soup dumplings, Everything but the Bagel sesame seasoning blend, and chocolate croissants.

See the all-time favorites included in Trader Joe’s Hall of Fame

The chips also won in the poll’s favorite snack category. Customers were also fans of the Organic Elote Corn Chip Dippers, Organic Corn Chip Dippers, World’s Puffiest White Cheddar Corn Puffs and Crunchy Curls, which were all among the top vote-getters.

The Sparkling Honeycrisp Apple Juice was the fans’ favorite beverage, though it is seasonal. The canned drink is a simple three-ingredient blend of apple juice, water and bubbles.

Following is the Triple Ginger Brew, Sparkling Peach Black Tea with peach juice, Sparkling Cranberry & Ginger Beverage and the Non-Dairy Brown Sugar Oat Creamer.

Now that Hall of Famer Unexpected Cheddar is no longer an option in the poll, the store’s cheddar cheese with caramelized onions took home top accolades.

See the full list of customer choice award winners

Runners-up included Syrah Soaked Toscano, seasonal Baked Lemon Ricotta, Blueberry & Vanilla Chèvre and its various bries.

Replacing the longtime Mandarin Orange Chicken is Trader Joe’s Butter Chicken – spiced chicken in a tomato and cream sauce with basmati rice.

Indian is popular with Trader Joe’s customers. Second runner-up was Chicken Tikka Masala, followed by Kung Pao Chicken, Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese and BBQ Teriyaki Chicken.

Seasonal candles won out in this category. Its seasonal scents include Peony Blossom, Cedar Balsam, Honeycrisp Apple and Vanilla Pumpkin.

Runners-up: Daily Facial Sunscreen, Ultra-Moisturizing Hand Cream, Tea Tree Tingle Shampoo & Conditioner, and Shea Butter & Coconut Oil Hair Mask.

Unsurprisingly, customers voted bananas as their top choice. The chain is known for its 25-cent organic bananas and 19-cent regular bananas. Following choices were Teeny Tiny Avocados, Honeycrisp Apples, Brussels Sprouts and Organic Carrots of Many Colors.

The tiny and crunchy Hold the Cone! Mini Ice Cream Cones won top dessert, followed by Danish Kringle, Sublime Ice Cream Sandwiches, Chocolate Lava Cakes and Brookie.

Among its many vegan and vegetarian options, the Vegan Kale, Cashew & Basil Pesto came out on top. Vegetable Fried Rice, Beefless Bulgogi, Palak Paneer, Cauliflower Gnocchi followed.

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January 29, 2023
Running an errand on New Year’s Day? Here is what’s open and closed | CNN Business
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New York
CNN
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Many of us will close out 2022 with celebrations that stretch well into the wee hours of New Year’s Day.

But when Jan. 1, 2023 gets underway, we’ll just as likely return to familiar routines and habits – caffeine? – and even add in some new resolutions, like a morning walk or healthier eating.

If that’s the case, there are several grocery chains, drug stores and restaurant chains nationwide open for business on Jan 1, 2023.

But check hours of operation at your local store. Several will have modified hours and are either opening later or closing earlier on New Year’s Day.

Also, with January 1, 2023 falling on a Sunday, for most federal employees, Monday, January 2, will be treated as a paid holiday. This means post offices, government offices and banks will be closed on Monday.

Grocery stores:

Whole Foods

Safeway

Albertsons

Wegmans

Kroger

Stop & Shop

Drug stores:

CVS (pharmacy hours will vary based on location)

Walgreens (pharmacies closed on Jan.1)

Rite Aid

Discounters:

Walmart

Target

BJ’s

Dollar General

Five Below (check for modified store hours)

Department stores:

Nordstrom

JC Penney

Kohl’s

Macy’s

Marshalls

TJ Maxx (check for modified store hours)

Home improvement and home goods stores:

Lowe’s

Bed, Bath & Beyond

IKEA
USPS: Local post offices will be open on New Year’s Eve. Post offices will be closed on Jan. 1 and Jan. 2. Mail will not be picked up and will not be delivered.

FedEx: Ground and Express services are closed on Jan. 1. On Jan. 2, ground service is open but express service is closed.

Government offices are closed on Jan. 2.

Banks: Most banks typically follow the federal holiday calendar. This means teller services will be closed.

New York Stock Exchange closed on Jan. 2
Stores
Costco closed on Jan 1

Trader Joe’s closed on Jan 1

Aldi closed on Jan 1

Sam’s Club closed on Jan 1
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December 31, 2022
Why eggs have been so expensive this year | CNN Business

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CNN Business
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Several grocery items have gotten more expensive this year. But nothing comes close to the rise in egg prices.

In the year through November, not adjusted for seasonal swings, egg prices jumped 49%, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Since early this year, a deadly avian flu has been reducing poultry flocks — specifically turkeys and egg-laying hens. That’s one reason for the unrelenting increase in prices. But the situation has been exacerbated by elevated feed and energy costs for producers, in addition to high demand in the supermarket.

Experts think that the peak has passed, but until these conditions improve, expect to pay more for eggs in the grocery store.

Avian flu has been a problem in the US for several months now, but in recent weeks wholesale prices have been hitting records.

As of last week, “prices have been escalating for nine consecutive weeks… setting new record highs on a daily basis since the week of Thanksgiving,” said Karyn Rispoli, editor of the Egg Price Current for Urner Barry, which offers food market data.

On Friday, Midwest large eggs, the benchmark for eggs sold in their shells, hit $5.46 per dozen, Rispoli said, citing Urner Barry’s data. This time last year, Urner Berry’s data shows, that price was around $1.70.

One reason for the increase? Not enough supply.

“There’s simply not been enough production to support the incredibly strong retail demand we’ve seen this year,” Rispoli said. Supply has been constrained by the deadly bird flu.

The current outbreak of Highly-Pathogenic Avian Influenza started in the US around February, and has persisted throughout the year. The last major bird flu outbreak in the United States was in 2015. But that one was contained by June of that year, noted Brian Earnest, lead economist for animal protein in CoBank.

“This year, we’ve continued to see flock depopulations throughout the entire year, and there’s an expectation that we’ll continue to see it into 2023,” he said, noting that he expects “we’re going to see a tight supply situation and elevated pricing environment moving forward.”

About 60 million birds are gone because of the disease so far, according to the USDA. Of those, about 43 million are egg-laying hens, according to USDA data provided by the American Egg Board, a farmer-funded group which markets eggs.

Still, farmers have been able to moderate the losses. “Our producers learned a lot of hard lessons from 2015,” said Emily Metz, CEO of the American Egg Board. Some farmers have been able to repopulate their flocks, decreasing the net impact on flock sizes and egg supplies. As of early December, there were about 308 million hens laying eggs for consumption, down from about 328 million in December 2021, according to the USDA.

The supply squeeze isn’t the only thing contributing to higher egg prices, said Metz. Higher fuel, feed and other producer cost are also driving up wholesale prices, she said. And then there’s that high demand for eggs, which spikes this time of year.

People buy more eggs around the holidays, when they’re baking and cooking more, and eating breakfast at home more often.

Wholesale prices tend to go up in the winter because of those habits, noted Earnest. That has “brought about a very strong market condition.”

Year-round demand for eggs has also also been strong.

Even while prices have soared, sales of eggs have only ticked down about 2% by unit in retail in the year through December 4th, according to data from IRI, a market research firm.

Shoppers have been accepting high prices at the grocery store as they pull back on restaurant visits. And even though eggs have gotten more expensive, they still cost less than other proteins.

As that peak holiday demand passes, wholesale prices are expected to fall.

“Based on current trade values and market conditions, it appears that the market may have finally reached its peak,” said Rispoli. Friday’s wholesale prices were the same as Thursday’s, the first time pricing held steady since October, she said.

“Several suppliers have reported to us… that they are seeing their orders slow,” in the week leading up to Christmas, she added. By then, “most grocers have pulled in whatever inventory they’ll need for the holidays.”

It might take another three to six months for prices to moderate in retail, said KK Davey, president of thought leadership at IRI and NPD, and even longer for prices to come down to what they were last year.

“It may take some more time,” he said.

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December 27, 2022
Buffalo grocery store mass shooter willing to plead guilty to federal charges if death penalty off the table, attorneys say | CNN

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The gunman who killed 10 people and wounded three in a racist attack at a grocery store in a predominantly Black neighborhood of Buffalo, New York, would be willing to plead guilty to federal charges – including hate crimes – if prosecutors agree to take the death penalty off the table, his attorneys said Friday.

Attorneys representing Payton Gendron made their statements during a court hearing on Friday, seven months after Gendron used an illegally modified semiautomatic rifle to carry out the mass shooting.

Gendron, a 19-year-old White man, had faced multiple federal hate crime charges, which carry the potential for the death penalty, in addition to several firearms charges. He had pleaded not guilty to the federal charges.

He pleaded guilty in a state court last month to one count of a domestic act of terrorism motivated by hate, 10 counts of first-degree murder, three counts of attempted murder and a weapons possession charge in the mass shooting at Tops Friendly Markets on May 14. Those charges come with a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the chance of parole.

“Just as Payton Gendron entered a plea of guilty to the indictment in county court, he is prepared to enter a plea of guilty in federal court in exchange of the same sentence, which is the sentence of life in prison, without parole,” said his defense attorney Sonya Zoghlin.

Magistrate Judge Kenneth Schroeder in court on Friday balked at giving attorneys more time to review the voluminous evidence connected with the case since Gendron has already pleaded guilty to state charges.

Gendron’s defense team said in court they plan to take the first steps to meet with the US Attorney in Buffalo and the Assistant Attorney General from Washington so that they can make a formal presentation to as to why Gendron should not get the death penalty.

The first meetings are scheduled after the new year, attorneys said in court on Friday.

“There’s a lot to go through and I think that mitigation presentation, obviously, is highly important for them, in addition to the facts of the case, so that’s why we consented this time,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Tripi.

Judge Schroeder scheduled the next hearing for March 10, during which attorneys will give an update on how much of the evidence they’ve been able to review and if they can work out a deal with prosecutors.

Meanwhile, Gendron will be sentenced on his state conviction on similar charges in February.

The victims, including customers, employees and an armed security guard, ranged in age from 20 to 86. Eleven of the 13 people shot were Black and two were White, officials said.

Social media posts and a lengthy document written by the gunman reveal he had been planning his attack for months and had visited the Tops supermarket several times previously. He posted that he chose Tops because it was in a particular ZIP code in Buffalo that had the highest percentage of Black people close enough to where he lived in Conklin, New York.

The document outlined his goals for the attack, according to Flynn: “To kill as many African Americans as possible, avoid dying and spread ideals.”

Gendron shot four people outside the grocery store and nine more inside before surrendering to Buffalo Police officers who responded to the scene, according to an indictment.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said following the attack that the AR-15 style rifle used in the shooting was legally purchased in New York State, but was modified with a high-capacity magazine, which is not legal in the state.

The earlier guilty plea ensured there will be no state trial and Gendron will not appeal, defense attorney Brian Parker said.

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December 9, 2022
Kyiv residents mull life outside the city as power outages bite and incomes plummet | CNN

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Kyiv, Ukraine
CNN
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Kyiv residents have been getting used to 12 hours a day without electricity, but the situation has gone from bad to worse recently as the Russian missile campaign puts the Ukrainian grid under further pressure, causing even more outages.

On Monday evening, in a normally busy neighborhood on the east bank of the Dnipro River, almost everything was dark. One cafe was open thanks to a generator, but other stores, including a supermarket, and the apartment buildings had no power.

Without power, everything takes much longer – just as the temperatures are beginning to drop. There are lines for cash machines, which only work when the power is on, and at stores and welfare centers that provide basic grocery supplies to those in greatest need.

The power interruptions have led to spontaneous street markets appearing, even though they are unlicensed.

The people of Kyiv are improvising and adapting as they have for much of this year, but without some relief from the missile attacks, many may choose to leave the city and hunker down for the winter months around a wood-burning stove.

On Sunday Vitali Klitschko, Kyiv’s mayor, said the city is preparing for worst-case scenarios in the event of further Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, which could potentially leave it without any power or water. He said: “Our enemies are doing everything to keep the city without heat, electricity, and water supply, and in general, they want us all to die.”

CNN has spoken to some of the city’s residents about the harsh realities that lie ahead, among them 21-year-old coffee shop barista, Anna Ermantraut.

When she arrived for work at 8.30 a.m. on Monday, there was no electricity. She said she eventually started work two hours later – but at 12 p.m. the power went out again.

Ermantraut said the coffee shop’s earnings had more than halved and she could no longer sell many cakes because the refrigerators were off so frequently.

Life is not much better at home, she told CNN. When the electricity goes there, she also loses the water supply.

Ermantraut said she had begun thinking about what to do if the power situation further deteriorates and Kyiv is evacuated. She said she planned to move to a house in a nearby village where there is a stove that runs on firewood and a well with water.

When CNN met 70-year-old pensioner Lubov Mironenko she had been waiting in line for five hours at a welfare center for grocery supplies. The persistent outages have made it difficult to survive, she said.

Marya Litvinchuk, 29, a hairdresser, said the additional power cuts, in addition to the three scheduled every day, have worsened an already difficult situation.

When the power was cut off according to a schedule, “you could plan to work, but still, working time was reduced by half.” Of course, that meant that “earnings were also cut by half.”

In a bid to keep operating, she ordered special lights that run on batteries and bought a generator for $1,000 – even though the average price of a haircut is just $6. There was then more bad news as she discovered that she had been scammed and the generator didn’t work. She now has to take electric clippers home to recharge them overnight.

Like Ermantraut, she plans to move to the countryside to stay with relatives if Kyiv is evacuated.

Yuriy Pogulay, 39, is also suffering financially. Not so long ago the small cafe that Pogulay jointly owns operated between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. – they now struggle to stay open for more than three hours.

He told CNN that revenue had dropped significantly and that they cannot store food for long as they have tried to minimize using the refrigerator.

“I ordered a generator, but I don’t know when it will arrive,” he said.

Pogulay said the business was financially squeezed. “With the generator my costs will increase, but I can’t raise prices because the economic situation of people has worsened.”

The World Bank has forecast that the Ukrainian economy may contract by 40% or more this year because of the conflict.

One man who has suffered less than most is Anton Kargatov, a 36-year-old musician.

“I play music outdoors, so I don’t need electricity,” said Kargatov, who told CNN he has a sleeping bag and a powerbank at home. “If Kyiv is evacuated, I’m not going anywhere. There’s a well with water not far from my house. And in the backyard I can cook food over a fire. I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

Victoria Storozh works at a pizzeria in downtown Kyiv; the business suffers fewer power cuts than some as it is located in an area close to government buildings. Even so, she said: “My husband and I are ready in case we all have to evacuate, we have a stock of firewood and water at our dacha in the Kyiv region. We will live through the hard times there.”

Serhey Kizilov, 23, is a rehabilitation coach who works out of a basement gym. Lighting is just one of the issues he faces, he told CNN.

“Our whole sewage system depends on pumps running on electricity. Also our ventilation system,” he said. “Even if we can make the rooms light when there is no electricity, we can’t do anything about the sewage and ventilation.

“My income suffers also, because there are fewer people in the hall – not everyone wants to practice in such conditions.”

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November 8, 2022
Food prices are still surging — here’s what’s getting more expensive | CNN Business

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New York
CNN Business
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Prices at the grocery store continued to soar last month, adding even more pressure to shoppers’ wallets.

The food at home index, a proxy for grocery store prices, increased 0.7% in September from the month prior and a stunning 13% over the last year, according to new government data released Thursday.

Just about everything got more expensive in September.

Fruits and vegetables surged 1.6% for the month, while cereals and bakery products rose 0.9%. Other groceries increased 0.5% in September, following a 1.1% increase in August.

Meats, poultry, fish and eggs rose 0.4% over the month and beverages increased 0.6%.

Prices on many of these items are up double digits annually.

A number of factors have contributed to the surge in prices. Producers say they’re paying more for labor and packaging materials. Extreme weather, including droughts and flooding, and disease, such as the deadly avian flu, have been hurting crops and killing egg-laying hens, squeezing supplies.

“The environment clearly is still very inflationary with a lot of supply chain challenges across the industry,” Pepsi

(PEP)CEO Ramon Laguarta said on an earnings call Wednesday. The company’s prices increased 17% annually.

Meanwhile, demand is high. Consumers may be able to pull back on some discretionary items, but they have to eat. Many people are still working from home and consuming more of their meals there than they did before the pandemic.

This imbalance between supply and demand means companies can pass along higher prices to shoppers without sales plunging.

But higher prices at the grocery store are forcing customers to make some trade offs.

Many shoppers are buying fewer products, switching to cheaper private-label brands and pulling back on discretionary items.

More than one million new households have shopped at discount grocery chain Aldi for the first in the past year, according to the company.

Walmart

(WMT) said recently that high levels of food inflation are impacting customers’ ability to purchase discretionary goods such as clothing and furniture.

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October 13, 2022
The simple reason why Trader Joe’s doesn’t deliver | CNN Business

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CNN Business
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Online ordering is kind of a big thing these days, if you haven’t heard yet, and just about every supermarket chain in America offers delivery and curbside pickup.

Except Trader Joe’s.

The private company, which started in 1967 to appeal to counterculture shoppers overlooked by mainstream stores, rejects delivery because its brand identity is wrapped up in its distinct food brands and nautical-themed stores. One company motto: “The store is our brand.”

E-commerce is a costly undertaking for companies, and Trader Joe’s business model is suited poorly for delivery, according to retail experts. But Trader Joe’s resistance makes it vulnerable to losing shoppers who have gotten accustomed to the convenience of online ordering, especially during the pandemic.

“Trader Joe’s is skeptical of change. They have something that’s working really well,” said Benjamin Lorr, the author of “The Secret Life of Groceries.” “The chain has been very slow to adapt from its core model and core competency.”

Delivery is expensive for stores. Many supermarkets have outsourced the logistics to third-party platforms like Instacart rather than hire their own staff to handle orders. These platforms use a network of contract workers to select customers’ orders off store shelves and deliver them to their homes.

But Trader Joe’s stores are already overcrowded. Trader Joe’s squeezes a limited number of items into small stores, many on city street corners. Additional people inside stores or cars in parking lots would make Trader Joe’s unbearable. Curbside pickup would also be difficult to implement for these reasons.

Although Trader Joe’s could opt to build warehouses to fulfill grocery orders, that would be a huge investment for the company, which could force it to raise prices or cut pay.

“Creating an online shopping system for curbside pickup or the infrastructure for delivery – it’s a massive undertaking,” Trader Joe’s vice president of marketing Matt Sloan said in a company podcast in 2020. “It’s something that takes months or years to plan, build and implement and it requires tremendous resources.”

Trader Joe’s also introduces and discontinues products more frequently than many competitors. This strategy contributes to the treasure hunt-like experience of browsing the store and spurs customers’ impulse purchases. But it’s hard to recreate this environment on a website.

Trader Joe’s offered delivery in New York City for many years, but ended the program in 2019 because of high costs and limited space.

“Instead of passing along unsustainable cost increases to our customers, removing delivery will allow us to continue offering outstanding values … and to make better use of valuable space in our stores,” a spokesperson said at the time.

The company was caught flat-footed during the online shopping boom in 2020 and 2021, when many customers limited their visits inside stores to protect against Covid-19 and instead ordered to their homes.

During the peak of the pandemic, 20% to 30% of grocers’ business shifted online. By the end of 2020, online grocery shopping had hit 9% to 12% of the total market — a threefold increase from pre-pandemic levels, according to McKinsey.

E-commerce will keep growing and reach 14% to 18% or more of all grocery sales in the next three to five years, McKinsey projects.

Trader Joe’s lack of presence online means it will miss out on this sizable part of the market and puts it behind rivals like Kroger

(KR) and Whole Foods, owned by Amazon

(AMZN), which have poured billions of dollars into their online ordering systems.

In fact, even pharmacies and convenience stores like 7-Eleven have a delivery option these days. And Costco

(COST), Aldi and other discount grocers that resisted moving online for years have come around to it.

“It does seem to be a potential missed opportunity on the sales side,” said Steve Bishop, the co-founder of retail consulting firm Brick Meets Click. “It’s a growing and increasingly significant part of the business.”

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October 8, 2022
How Buffalo is ensuring the Black community isn’t left behind after mass supermarket shooting | CNN

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Buffalo, NY
CNN
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The day after Buffalo experienced the largest mass shooting in its history, teams of emergency volunteers and mental health counselors arrived on the scene, offering emotional support and distributing food.

The response was robust and swift, but there was one big problem.

“The community didn’t feel comfortable coming up the stairs to the center because what they saw was a large group of White people,” said Kelly Wofford, Erie County’s director of health equity.

A White gunman had deliberately opened fire at a predominantly Black neighborhood’s only grocery store, a Tops supermarket, on a busy Saturday in May. Eleven of the 13 people shot were Black, including the 10 killed. Authorities called the shooting racially motivated.

“In any other kind of tragedy, like a hurricane or flood, anyone offering resources would be gladly welcomed, but this was different. This tragedy had a face and a hatred for a certain group of people,” said Thomas Beauford Jr., president and CEO of the Buffalo Urban League, which was one of the community organizations on site the day of the shooting.

“They completely rejected it,” said Beauford, adding, “The immediate reaction to the counselors was, ‘We need to see counselors that look like us.’”

By Monday, the problem was addressed. Wofford, who grew up down the street from the Tops, tapped her network to ensure there were more Black counselors on site, that Black people were the ones handing out flyers on the street about available services, and that Black people greeted folks at the help center.

“We made sure the community affected felt comfortable seeking the services they need,” Wofford said.

Her response efforts – and the spotlight the May 14 shooting put on the community’s existing disparities – exemplifies the role Erie County’s newly formed Office of Health Equity is meant to play in the community: ensuring that health services are equitably distributed across disadvantaged and marginalized populations.

Within Erie County, there is a significant disparity between the health outcomes of White residents and residents of color, which became even clearer as Covid-19 disproportionately affected Black and brown communities there, as well as across the country.

Even before the pandemic, the life expectancy of Black Buffalo residents was 12 years shorter than White residents, according to a report published by the Buffalo Center for Health Equity in 2015, the most recent data available.

Erie County’s Office of Health Equity was launched to help address those disparities. It was established in January by county law, and the funding was made possible by a major federal pandemic relief package known as the American Rescue Plan that distributed money to states, counties and cities across the country.

Erie County allocated roughly $1 million of the nearly $179 million it received from the American Rescue Plan for the creation of the Health Equity Office. It is using the remaining funds on a variety of needs, including economic assistance for small businesses, water treatment infrastructure and restoring jobs and spending that were initially cut due to the pandemic.

While issues of health equity were addressed prior to the formation of the office, the law formalized the efforts and put funding behind them, ensuring it can work to address long-term solutions. With Wofford at the helm, the office has nine staff members, including two epidemiologists.

“The Office of Health Equity – which did not exist and would not have existed without the funding we received from the American Rescue Plan – immediately became an integral partner in the response to the Tops shooting on May 14, by being in some ways the boots on the ground and the coordinator between third-party agencies and the county’s delivery of these services to the community,” said Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz.

“It was unlike any experience we’ve ever had,” Poloncarz added, “and I’m very grateful that we had the Office of Health Equity in place because it would have made our job a lot tougher without it.”

Addressing health disparities is something communities across the country are grappling with, and while the pandemic caused illness and death for millions, it also has helped spur some momentum.

State and local health equity offices are far from being as prevalent as water departments, for example, but they are having a moment – due in part to the influx of money from the federal government meant to help communities recover.

“The pandemic really highlighted the gross differences in our ability to keep people healthy, related to race and ethnicity,” said Lori Tremmel Freeman, CEO of the National Association of County and City Health Officials.

The group hasn’t tracked how many formal equity offices have opened, but the number is growing, Freeman said. Philadelphia hired its first chief racial equity officer earlier this year.

In the past, some communities have not had the political will or the resources to formalize their health equity efforts, she added.

High-profile killings of Black people by police, notably the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, gave rise to a number of communities declaring racism as a public health crisis, laying the groundwork for some of the offices opening now. In April 2021, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also declared racism a serious public health threat.

Resolving health inequities will take time and requires tackling the social determinants of health. These are the factors that contribute to someone’s health that they don’t have control over themselves, like access to clean water and healthy food and other conditions where they live, work and play that can affect their health.

“You’re really trying to create the same opportunity for health for every single person in the community, no matter what their economic status is, where they live or whether they have a job,” Freeman said.

In mid-July, the Tops grocery store reopened to mixed reactions from the community.

Without the supermarket, those without a car may have lacked convenient access to nutritious food. For others, it was emotionally difficult to reenter the store.

Migdalia Lozada, a crisis counselor with the Buffalo Urban League, spent one August morning offering support to shoppers. Lozada took one woman by the hand as she walked into the store for the first time since the tragedy, feeling the woman’s tears fall onto her arm.

The Buffalo Urban League’s community resource center, located just two blocks from the Tops, continues to serve the traumatized neighborhood. People can walk right into the space and speak with a crisis counselor. Some people are regulars who come in nearly every day. Others may have been triggered by an event like a shooting elsewhere or movement in a court case against the shooting suspect.

“We just try to give the person some space to open up in a safe, confidential place,” said Lozada.

While the Buffalo Urban League’s crisis counselors had already been serving the community for months, its leaders wanted a physical space nearby the Tops store after the shooting. The group found an open space down the street that had once been a neighborhood bar known as Pixie’s and opened a resource center there within days after the tragedy. The building intentionally looks and feels much more like a local watering hole than a health institution.

The center also serves as a place that connects people with other resources to address a wide range of social determinants of health, like employment, housing and education.

The Buffalo Urban League plans to work closely with the county, especially with the new Office of Health Equity, to help drive long-term change going forward.

The county office is first working on training people in the Mental Health First Aid national program, so that the county can deploy counselors throughout the community – like at Bible studies and community centers – to meet people where they already may be. A recent nationwide study found that while the share of US adults who received treatment for mental health grew throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, people of color are less able to access mental health services.

The office is also working on a survey that, in part, will show what problems members of the community would like addressed – it could be the high prevalence of diabetes or high blood pressure, for example.

“When you look at the social determinants of health, there are inequities across all of them, so you can pick whichever one you want,” Wofford said.

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October 2, 2022
White House seeks to tackle food insecurity at first hunger conference since 1969 | CNN Politics

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Groceries cost 13.5% more than they did a year ago. Nearly 25 million adults live in households where there isn’t always enough to eat. Some 40% of food banks saw increased demand this summer.

At a time when the affordability of food is in the spotlight, the Biden administration is hosting a White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health on Wednesday with the goal of combating food insecurity and diet-related diseases.

Overall, food insecurity has declined since former President Richard Nixon convened the first and only White House conference on food, nutrition and health in 1969, which led to nationwide expansions of the food stamp and school meals programs and the creation of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC, among other changes. General economic growth and the reduction in poverty have also contributed to the improvements in food security in recent decades.

However, the Covid-19 pandemic and soaring inflation have increased the attention paid to food insecurity in the US over the past two years. The Biden administration released a 44-page playbook on Tuesday aimed at the “bold goal” of ending hunger by 2030 and increasing healthy eating and physical activity to reduce diet-related diseases.

Among the key proposals: expand free school meals to 9 million more children by 2032; allow more people to qualify for food stamps; broaden the Summer Expanded Benefit Transfer program to more kids; increase funding for nutrition programs for senior citizens; and improve transportation to and from grocery stores and farmer’s markets, among other initiatives. Many of the efforts would need approval from Congress.

President Joe Biden announced at the conference more than $8 billion in private and public sector commitments as part of the administration’s call to action.

“In America, no child, no child should go to bed hungry,” Biden told those gathered at the conference Wednesday. “No parent should die of disease that can be prevented.”

More than 100 organizations have made commitments, including hospitals and health care associations, tech companies, philanthropies and the food industry.

At least $2.5 billion will be invested in start-up companies that are focused on solutions to hunger and food insecurity, according to the White House. More than $4 billion will be dedicated toward philanthropic efforts to improve access to nutritious food, promote healthy choices and increase physical activity.

The President also urged Congress to make permanent the enhancement to the child tax credit, which was only in effect last year. Parents used the additional monthly funds to buy food and basic necessities, which Biden said helped cut child poverty in half and reduced food insecurity for families by 26%.

Congress has poured billions into special pandemic assistance programs aimed at enabling struggling Americans to have enough food to feed themselves and their families – even as millions of jobs were lost in 2020.

“That’s why it’s so consequential that at the onset of the Covid-19 recession, the combination of fiscal support to households – whether it is from the economic impact payments, unemployment insurance, refundable tax credits, enhanced SNAP benefits or pandemic EBT – all combined to prevent an increase in food insecurity over the past two years,” said Lauren Bauer, a fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution.

The pandemic aid, particularly a temporary enhancement to the child tax credit, helped keep kids fed last year, Bauer and anti-hunger advocates maintain.

Food insecurity among children fell in 2021, reversing a spike during the first year of the pandemic, according to a recent US Department of Agriculture report. Some 6.2% of households with children were unable at times to provide adequate, nutritious food for their kids last year, compared with 7.6% in 2020, the report found. Last year’s rate was not significantly different than the 2019 share.

And the prevalence of food insecurity in the families who have kids dropped to 12.5% last year, the lowest since at least 1998, the earliest year that comparable records exist.

But elderly Americans living alone and childless households both experienced an increase in food insecurity last year, the report found.

Overall, the share of households contending with food insecurity remained statistically the same in 2021 as the year before.

This lack of improvement in general food insecurity despite the surge in federal spending on food stamps, formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, is a red flag for Angela Rachidi, senior fellow in poverty studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank.

“When the solution is always ‘let’s just spend more on SNAP or spend more on school lunch or WIC,’ I think that that’s not always the best use of federal dollars,” she said.

Rachidi would like to see more of an emphasis on nutrition and healthy eating, which are among the pillars of the White House conference.

“Many more people in the US die from diet-related disease than die from hunger,” she said, noting the health problems caused by obesity, diabetes and other conditions.

The pandemic aid that helped keep Americans afloat has largely been exhausted, and Congress has shown little appetite to dole out more assistance – even as high inflation is squeezing many families.

The share of people who say they live in households where there was either sometimes or often not enough to eat in the last seven days has climbed to 11.5%, according to the most recent US Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey conducted in late July and early August.

That’s up from the 10.2% recorded by the survey in late December and early January, just after the final monthly child tax credit payment was distributed. The share had been even lower in the late summer and early fall of 2021, when the monthly installments were being sent.

Meanwhile, shopping in the supermarket is taking a bigger bite out of people’s wallets. Egg prices have skyrocketed nearly 40% over the past year, while flour is 23% costlier. Milk and bread are up 17% and 16% respectively, while chicken is nearly 17% more expensive.

Starting next month, it will be a little easier for those in the food stamp program to afford groceries because the annual inflation adjustment will kick in. Beneficiaries will see an increase in benefits of 12%, or an average of $26 per person, per month. This comes on top of last year’s revision to the Thrifty Food Plan, upon which benefits are based, which raised the average monthly payment by $36 per person.

Still, the upward march in prices has driven more people to food pantries, which are also struggling to stock the shelves amid higher prices.

Some 40% of food banks reported seeing an increase in the number of people served in July compared with June, according to a survey conducted by Feeding America, which has more than 60,000 food pantries, meal programs and partner agencies in its network. The average increase was about 10% more people. Another 40% said demand remained about level.

Many food pantries don’t have the resources to meet this increased demand, said Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, Feeding America’s CEO, noting that she’s seen sites with nearly empty shelves but long lines out the door.

The network provided 1.4 billion fewer meals in the fiscal year ending June 30 than the year before.

The USDA announced earlier this month that it will provide nearly $1.5 billion in additional funding for emergency food assistance, which will help alleviate the supply shortages at food banks and pantries.

However, Feeding America feels more should be done. It recently surveyed nearly 36,000 people for their recommendations to end hunger. Many felt that food stamp benefits should be increased and eligibility should be expanded. Nearly half felt their communities need more food pantries, grocery stores and fresh food.

The recent infusion of federal funds will help pantries distribute more food, though it doesn’t completely close the gap. And it will take time for the supplies to arrive, Babineaux-Fontenot said.

“Today, people are going to be looking for ways to feed themselves and their family, and there will be scarce resources for them to do that,” she said.

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September 28, 2022