EL RANCHO IGA - Arizona Food Marketing Alliance

April 2010
EL RANCHO IGA
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ARIZONA FOOD INDUSTRY
JOURNAL
JOURNAL
APRIL 2010
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OFFICERS
Ron Parucki, Fry’s Food Stores – Chairman
Jim Tooms, IGW L.L.C. - 1st Vice Chairman
Jeff Nelson, Co-Sales Company - 2nd Vice Chairman
Doug Sanders, Sprouts Farmers Market - 3rd Vice Chairman
Geoff Stickler, Express Foods – Treasurer
Don Olsen, Olsens IGA – Past Chairman
DIRECTORS
Frank Cannistra, Safeway
Joe Cotroneo, Crescent Crown Distributing
Shane Dorcheus, Albertsons L.L.C.
Louis Diab, Circle K
Ray Kruckner, 7-Eleven
Mark Miller, Hensley
Randy Ong, Sunflower Farmers Market
Mike Provenzano, Ranch Markets
T.J. Shope, Shope’s IGA
Bette Taylor, Foodtown IGA
Tim Thomas, The Arizona Republic
PRESIDENT - TIM MCCABE
AFMA STAFF
Debbie Roth - General Manager
Raynetta Hughes - Administrative Coordinator
Paul Bancroft-Turner - Marketing Coordinator
ACR STAFF
Dan Tennessen - Director
Greg Colyar - Field Manager
Judy Lettow - Customer Care/Office Manager
JOURNAL STAFF
Debbie Roth - Editor
Lisa Schnebly Heidinger - Feature Writer
Jim Marshall - Photographer
Layton Printing - Printer
JMT Graphics - Graphic Design
CONTENTS
FEATURES
Alaskan Brewing Company ................................................18
EL Rancho IGA..................................................................14
COLUMNS
Around Arizona History ........................................................8
Legislative Insight ................................................................4
www.commentary ............................................................10
DEPARTMENTS
Industry Calendar ..............................................................21
Names in the News ..........................................................20
WORTH A LOOK
AFMA Board Member Profile ..............................................21
We-Ko-Pa... WOW!..........................................................12
ADVERTISERS
ACR ................................16
ASU ................................22
Alaskan Brewing ................19
APEX ................................22
Arizona Lottery ....................5
Blue Bunny ........................22
Cox Communications ..........17
Crescent Crown ..................2
Dr. Pepper/Snapple............11
Dreyer’s ..............................9
Garvin Promotions ..............23
MillerCoors........................24
ARIZONA FOOD MARKETING ALLIANCE
120 E. PIERCE ST., PHOENIX, AZ 85004
602.252.9761 • FAX: 602.252.9021
DROTH@AFMAAZ.ORG
WWW.AFMAAZ.ORG
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION $50
ON THE COVER
EL RANCHO IGA Owners
Elizabeth and Jorge Rascon.

Legislative Insight
(Editors Note: In response to a member's suggestion to engage
Legislators’ thoughts and expertise on issues impacting the Food
Industry, what follows is the third in a series of questions asked
and answered by the members of the Arizona State Legislature.)
THE JOURNAL: Being a rancher and representing
a more rural area of Arizona how are the challenges
different in this struggling economy from those in
Maricopa County?
Besides the budget issue, what other goals do you
want to accomplish in this session? Are any of these
beneficial to existing businesses in Arizona?
Senator Steve Pierce:
Everyone is struggling now in this country. It is a bad time in
history. I see people suffering in Maricopa County and in Yavapai
County. I think that when the economy lives on growth like ours
does, it is more vulnerable to the downturns. Maricopa is
probably hit worse than the rural counties since that is where
most of the growth is. Yavapai has growth but in this and in other
recessions it seems like it may go flat and slow growth but it does
not stop like in Phoenix. People in the rural areas seem to be able
to handle the adversity and display more resilience in their ability
to get by in these hard times. It hurts everywhere but rural areas
are not as bad.
Here at the Senate, the budget is the main focus for me. Many
members focus on bills and issues but I see the State teetering on
the edge of financial ruin. It is a bad situation that has members
not paying attention to the big picture – the economy. My first
constitutional obligation is to pass a balanced budget. Not an easy
task in this economy, but it is possible. We need to get this State
to become a business friendly State that has less government, less
regulation, less taxes and more open to good industry moving
here so we can grow our way out of this mess faster. We need to
restructure our tax code and be on the cutting edge of a modern,
business friendly State. We need to reform the laws and rules that
restrict business and remove regulations on them so they can
come to Arizona to grow and prosper. Jobs are leaving California
and going to Texas. We need to stop them and get them to make
Arizona their home. We have as much to offer as any other state
and then more. We should be soliciting companies to move here
by promoting ourselves and what we have to offer. We should be
advertizing more and get this State in the forefront of the nation;
and our State should become a safe haven from the rest of the
nation. Texas is doing this now and we need to make hard
decisions that will improve everyone’s lifestyle. We can do it! ◆
Page 4 • Arizona Food Industry Journal • April 2010
Senator Steve Pierce
A third-generation Arizonan, Steve Pierce was born in Phoenix in 1950. He moved to Prescott
while in grade school when his dad, Delbert, acquired the first of several ranches now known as the
Las Vegas Ranch. He was raised on the family ranch where he learned the value of hard work at a
young age. A graduate of Prescott High and the University of Arizona, Steve has continued the
family tradition of ranching. Steve and his wife Joan have been married for 35 years. They raised
their four children in Prescott, and are now blessed with four grandchildren.
He graduated from the University of Arizona with a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science. His
family has been ranching in Arizona since 1915, and Steve himself has five decades of experience
working as a rancher. Steve has served in various cattle and agriculture organizations, both locally
and nationwide, such as the National Cattlemen’s Beef Board, the US Meat Export Federation, and
the Arizona Beef Council. In addition, Steve has served on the Board of Directors of County Bank,
the Anasazi Foundation and the Central Arizona Partnership. Steve is active with the Yavapai
County Republican Party, where he was elected as Chairman, and has been elected to the State
Executive Committee for the Arizona Republican Party for the last five years.
Steve has always been an excellent steward of the land for which he is responsible. He was
recognized for his efforts in 1983 when the Arizona Section of the Society for Range Management
named Steve and his father Delbert “Range Managers of the Year”.

INDUSTRY & GOVERNMENT
…. a summary of the issues that affect your business.
“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want
to test a man's character, give him power.”
—Abraham Lincoln
CITY ISSUES
City of Mesa Proposes Security Plan for
Convenience Stores
The City of Mesa Police Department has put together a proposal
that would significantly impact all convenience stores in Mesa. This
plan is part of an initiative called Crime Prevention Through
Environmental Design (CPTED).
The City is focused on reducing crime in retail outlets with special
attention on robberies and beer thefts. The proposed measures include:
ballards in parking lots, special lighting, nets on beer displays and
locking beer coolers during certain hours.
"Our convenience stores already have detailed security plans. Top
priority has always been the safety of customers and employees. This
proposal would add significant cost to all stores. The biggest impact
would be to the 11 plus small independents in Mesa that are struggling
now to survive in this tough economy. The cost of this proposal could
put many of them out of business," said Tim McCabe president of the
Arizona Food Marketing Alliance. "We will continue to work with the
Mesa Police Department to find a fair resolution. Reducing crime in our
stores is very important to us as well and we look forward to partnering
with the City in any way possible."
"We compliment Mesa on the overall CPTED plan."
NATIONAL ISSUES
House and Senate Must Reconcile
Jobs Legislation Differences
On March 10 the Senate passed along a 62-36 vote $31 billion in
temporary tax breaks along with new permanent penalties on
businesses that try to avoid taxes using transactions that lack any
underlying “economic substance.” H.R. 4213 would extend more than
40 tax breaks that expired at the end of 2009 through 2010 including
a 15-year cost recovery provision for improvements to restaurants and
retailers. The overall bill included another extension of federal
unemployment insurance benefits, tax credits to subsidize the cost of
COBRA health insurance premiums for displaced workers, and a
temporary change in pension funding rules to ease some of the
financial strain on employers due to the drop in pension values as the
stock market softened. Eight Republicans voted for cloture on the
bill including new Senator Scott Brown (R-MA).
The bill was amended significantly by the Senate since the House
passed it in December 2009, therefore it’s anticipated that the
legislation will now move to conference between the House and
Senate, which would be a rarity for tax bills in recent years. Often the
House will simply accept and pass the Senate’s changes. The House
Ways and Means Committee is now under the leadership of Chairman
Sander Levin (D-MI) after embattled Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-
NY) stepped aside amid an ethics investigation. House Democrats
are also planning to move forward on small business tax legislation
that would among other things, eliminate capital gains taxes on sales
of shares in start up firms and smaller companies.
White House and Unions Remain
Optimistic About EFCA:
The White House and organized labor have not given up on seeking
enactment of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). Vice President
Joe Biden recently told the AFL-CIO at their winter meeting in
Orlando, Florida, that the Obama Administration will still be able to
push through the union-organizing “card check” bill despite the fact
that Democrats have lost their 60-seat super-majority in the Senate.
Biden offered few specifics on how the White House would jump
start the EFCA legislation (H.R.1409 – S.560) which has seen no
activity since its introduction early in 2009. Biden also made no
mention of the failed attempt to get Senate approval of the nomination
of pro-union lawyer Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations
Board (NLRB). The Senate rejected Becker by a vote of 52 - 33.
The employer community must not get too complacent over its
successes so far on blocking EFCA and the Becker nomination.
There is a legitimate concern that at the urging of big labor, Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) might be willing to schedule a
vote on the EFCA bill as introduced knowing there are not 60 votes
to move the legislation. After this “test vote”, Senator Reid in
concert with Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) could then unveil a
compromise measure that would jettison the card check provisions
while preserving the secret ballot, but would require “quickie”
elections and grant union organizers access to the employer’s work
site during normal business hours. The so-called new EFCA
compromise would also feature mandatory binding arbitration if the
union and the employer cannot reach an agreement on the first
contract within 120 days. FMI and member companies need to
remind key Senators that EFCA and any alternative compromises
must be rejected.
Page 6 • Arizona Food Industry Journal • April 2010

Another way in which to impose EFCA provisions on employers
is through administrative rulemaking by the NLRB. Such a scenario
would occur if President Obama were to make Craig Becker a “recess
appointment” to the Board. This could happen as early as April,
when Congress breaks for its Easter recess. Efforts are underway by
various anti-EFCA coalitions to encourage Members of Congress to
contact the White House in opposition to a Becker “recess
appointment.” Becker’s background as Associate General Counsel of
the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the numerous
law review articles that he has written over the years clearly show he
holds extreme views on how the National Labor Relations Act
(NLRA) should be interpreted and how it can be changed without the
need for any new legislation. For more information contact Ty
Kelley, tkelley@fmi.org.
Graying the Supermarket, Artfully
rehydrate and replenish, and highly visible displays of cold beverages
and protein bars or shakes might click. Or some other healthful foods
on displays (or a dietitian’s presentation) could help these shoppers
better understand the interplay between exercise, foods and
beverages at their age and their intensity levels. This would promote
their self-improvement and their active lifestyles, and keep the
supermarket in the mix.
Indeed, Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell proclaimed (March
8-12) as Older Pennsylvanians’ Nutrition Awareness Week. “Eating
properly and getting adequate exercise can go a long way to maintaining
good health,” he said. The state’s Department of Aging and the 52 Area
Agencies on Aging offer information and programs on proper nutrition
for older adults. With so many motivated Boomers (and seniors), and
with institutionalized programs such as this around, supermarkets need
to know their 55+-shopper ebb and flow – in order to reach more of
them more powerfully, and to remain an essential part of their fitness
and health equation.
Latino-Grocery Boom likely to Slow as
Second-Generation Shoppers Surge
A growth boom in the Latino grocery-store sector could be poised
for a slowdown in the next decade. The development surge is set to level
off as population changes make those stores less critical to Latino
shoppers, industry experts are predicting.
Colorado has been a focus of the industry’s ravenous appetite for
expansion. Eleven large-format Latino-oriented groceries — owned by
Avanza, Azteca and Rancho Liborio — have opened in the state since
2003. Dozens more are operating in California, Arizona, Nevada and
other states with large Latino populations.
If supermarket managers focus on the shoppers in their aisles – not
just the conditions of their shelves – they’d know the kinds of
customers that frequent their stores, the times and days they tend to
shop, and the parts of the store that please or irk them most.
With these insights, a ‘quick-change artist’ store could satisfy shoppers
more by suiting their rhythms and preferences. It doesn’t require
operational drama on the selling floor to suit a group like the 55+, for
example. How about ‘60s music on the speaker system when Boomers
are most populous? Might it lengthen their store visits, and help make
them more receptive to many kinds of offers?
Supermarkets that adopt lessons from gyms whose membership has
grayed will be quicker to bring more shopping pleasure to Boomers.
Membership among adults 55 and older reached 10.5 million in 2008,
up from 1.5 million in 1987, making them the fastest-growing
segment of the health club population, the New York Times reported,
citing annual surveys by the International Health, Racquet and
Sportsclub Association.
Clubs not only change the music at their busiest ‘gray’ times, they
change the equipment and the regimens to suit the body conditions of
most of 55+, rather than jacked young bodybuilders. Similarly,
supermarkets could observe when their 55+ come in and adjust
accordingly. If they’re coming from their gym workouts, they need to
By offering bilingual signs, Spanish-speaking employees and
food products from Latin American countries, the stores have been
popular with Latino customers. But over the next decade, Latinos
born in the United States will, for the first time, begin to outnumber
foreign-born Latinos.
U.S.-born Latinos are more culturally assimilated and less likely
than their immigrant parents to embrace Latino grocery stores,
analysts said. “The real growth in the Latino population is going to
come from the second generation,” said David Morse, president of
Los Angeles-based New American Dimensions, a multicultural
marketing- research firm. “The first generation wants a culturally
familiar shopping environment, and that’s why this (Latino) grocery
sector has been so popular,” Morse said. “But the second generation
can shop anywhere they want, so the comfort of a Hispanic grocery
is no longer an issue.”
A survey by New American Dimensions and the Food Marketing
Institute shows that foreign-born Latinos are about twice as likely as
Latinos born in the U.S. to seek stores with Spanish-speaking
employees, store signs in Spanish and Spanish-language advertising.
Analysts said they expect Latino groceries to continue to grow, but
not at the fast pace of the past decade.
◆
April 2010 • Arizona Food Industry Journal • Page 7

Around Arizona History
“You need your food, you need your water, and you need your history!”
What’s in a Name?
Territorial Prescott and Governor
Richard C. McCormick
Richard Cunningham McCormick
was a powerhouse and his lasting imprint on the
community I call, home, Prescott, Arizona, endures
to this day. He was born on May 23, 1832 in New
York City and during a career that took him from
New York to territorial Arizona and back, he served
as the first Secretary and second Governor of
Arizona Territory, three time Delegate to the U.S.
House of Representatives from Arizona Territory,
and as a Member of the U.S. House of
Representatives from New York. McCormick's other
accomplishments include service as a war
correspondent during two different conflicts and
creation of two Arizona newspapers.
As a youngster McCormick suffered from poor
health and Instead of enrolling in college, he was sent
to Europe under the Victorian belief that travel could
cure his ailments. There he became a war correspondent
reporting on the Crimean War. When he returned to the
U.S. the redheaded McCormick became the YMCA's
corresponding secretary and edited Young Men's
Magazine. In 1860, at the age of 28, McCormick
became editor of the New York Evening Post. At the
start of American Civil War, he went to front lines
as a war correspondent.
Meanwhile, he entered the political arena,
identifying with the newly-created Republican party.
He became a member of the Republican State
Committee in 1860 where he worked on Abraham
Lincoln's presidential campaign. In 1862, with
President Lincoln ensconced in office and preoccupied
with the Civil War, McCormick made an unsuccessful
run for the U. S. House of Representatives. Though he
lost his House race, Lincoln rewarded McCormick’s
loyalty and nominated him to be Secretary of Arizona
Territory on March 7, 1863. Following confirmation,
Page 8 • Arizona Food Industry Journal • April 2010
By Jack L. August, Ph.D.
McCormick journeyed with Governor John N.
Goodwin's party to the newly formed territory.
McCormick took his oath of office on December 29,
1863 as part of the Navajo Springs ceremony that
officially established Arizona Territory.
Outside his official duties, McCormick established
the Arizona Miner. The newspaper's first edition was
printed on March 9, 1864 at Fort Whipple and began
regular operations in Prescott on June 22, 1864.
Naturally, McCormick's control of the newspaper
aided his political career because he always received
favorable press coverage. The paper also provided a
forum for McCormick to share his vision with the
people of Arizona. In 1868, following the territorial
capitol's move to Tucson, for example, McCormick sold
his property in Prescott and purchased an interest in
the Weekly Arizonian. His association with the
Arizonian continued till October 1, 1870 when the
paper's editor withdrew political support for
McCormick. McCormick's response was to repossess
the paper's printing press and begin a new newspaper,
the Arizona Citizen, on October 15, 1870.
As Governor and Territorial Delegate McCormick
was a leader in Arizona Territory's "Federal Ring."
This group was a coalition of territorial officials and
leading citizens that worked in a nonpartisan fashion
to protect the lives and property of the territory's
American population, establish law and order, and
develop Arizona's economic potential. To achieve their
goals they crossed traditional political divides of the
day, with Northern Republican governors appointing
Southern Democrats and Hispanics to positions of
leadership. The "Federal Ring" dominated territorial
politics between 1863 and 1877 and though criticized
by many, it succeeded in providing a territorial
government that was relatively free of corruption and
dishonesty. As Governor, McCormick opposed the
policy of extermination of Indian groups and instead
supported the idea of a reservation system.
But McCormick’s most significant and lasting
contribution was the naming of Arizona’s territorial
Capitol, Prescott. The local Yavapai Indian name for
the site was In-dil-chin-ar (pine woods). At first, the
new Anglo-American population could not come to
agreement on a name: Gimletville, Audobon, Aztlan,
Goodwin City (for first sitting Governor, John
Goodwin), Granite (due to its location on Granite
Creek), and Fleuryville (for Judge Henry W. Fleury,
who had his headquarters on the west side of Granite
Creek) were a few that never gained traction. But as
McCormick wrote to a friend on July 11, 1864, “Our
new town is progressing finely. You must credit the
name…to me.” McCormick, who had brought a
considerable library with him to the Southwest, had
recently completed reading William Hickling Prescott’s
three volume-tome, The Conquest of Mexico and
convinced his fellow citizens that the name was
preferred over others because of the "Aztec memorial
everywhere existing in this region and confirming the
conclusions of the great American historian.”Though
Prescott, the historian, was mistaken about the Aztec’s
prehistoric reach into what is now central Arizona,
McCormick nevertheless, embraced the historian’s
conclusions and convinced settlers that “Prescott”was
the ideal name. Indeed McCormick’s legacy is reflected
in Prescott’s street names—Montezuma (Whiskey
Row), Cortez, Marina, Alarcon-- are testaments to
McCormick’s leadership and early influence in the
territory. After a distinguished post-Arizona career in
mining ventures and Republican politics, McCormick
returned to New York where he died peacefully at his
home on June 2, 1901.
◆
Dr. Jack L. August, Jr. is Professor of Practice in the History of Water Resource
Development and Land Use in the American West in the College of Agriculture and Life
Sciences at the University of Arizona. He also serves as Executive Director of the Barry
Goldwater Center for the Southwest and is Visiting Scholar in Legal History at Snell & Wilmer
L.L.P. He is a former Fulbright Scholar, National Endowment for the Humanities Research
Fellow, and Pulitzer Prize nominee for his volume, Vision in the Desert: Carl Hayden and
Hydropolitics in the American Southwest (Ft. Worth: TCU Press, 1999). Dr. August is the author
of numerous books on the history of the New American West and has taught at the University
of Houston, University of Northern British Columbia, and Northern Arizona University where
his courses focused on the American West and environmental history.

April 2010 • Arizona Food Industry Journal • Page 9

www.commentary
By Phil Hawkes
FOOD RULES
Michael Pollan has written a wonderful guidebook for eating better and
healthier. His “Food Rules……An Eater’s Manual,” is informative, thought
provoking, humorous and clever. And, you can read it in one sitting. The author
has boiled down the complicated subject of food and eating to the following
simple statements: “Eat food…..Not too much….Mostly plants.” And with
those sage pieces of advice as his guardrails, he sought input from doctors,
nurses, nutritionists, folklorists, mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers
to come up with a listing of food rules. He even invited the public’s input and
received 2,500 more suggestions. The result was 64 simple rules for eating
better. Here is a sampling of them. If some of the rules need more explanation
for you……read the book! I must forewarn my food industry readers, many of
the rules are not favorable towards our products or our item assortments.
RULES ABOUT FOOD TO AVOID
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“Don’t eat anything your great grandmother would not recognize as
food.” If you don’t have a great grandmother, he suggests you borrow one.
“Avoid foods with ingredients that a third grader cannot pronounce.”
“Avoid foods that are pretending to be something they are not.”
The perfect example is margarine. It is not butter.
“Avoid foods you see advertised on television.” They are all
processed oods.
“Avoid foods with high fructose corn syrup.” They are all
processed foods.
“If it comes from a plant-eat it. If it was made in a plant-don’t.”
Another processed food comment.
“Avoid foods that have some form of sugar in its first three
ingredients.” Do you know there are 40 types of sugar used in
processed foods?
“Don’t get your fuel from the same place your car does.”
Those convenience stores are all processed foods.
“It is not food if it is called by the same name in every language.”
Think Big Mac or Cheetos.
“It is not food if it came to you through your car window.” Enough said!
“Don’t eat cereals that change the color of milk.”
“The whiter the bread, the sooner you’ll be dead.”
“Avoid foods with the word ‘lite’ or the terms ‘low-fat’ or ‘nonfat’ in
their names.” Why, you ask? These terms were linked to food
introduced in the 70s. The average male is seventeen pounds heavier
and the average female, nineteen pounds heavier than they were in 1970.
RULES ABOUT WHAT TO EAT
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“Eat Food.” Sounds obvious, but he means real food, not “edible
foodlike substances.”
“Eat well grown food from healthy soil.” He could have said eat only
organic food, but that would be unfair to many great foods that just
don’t qualify to be organic.
“Eat mostly plants- especially leaves.”
“Eat sweet foods as you find them in nature.” Consume the fruit,
Page 10 • Arizona Food Industry Journal • April 2010
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not the juice of it.
“Eat foods predigested by bacteria or fungi.” Your digestive and
immune systems will benefit from fermented foods like yogurt,
sauerkraut, sourdough and soy sauce.
“Eat more colors.” A pro-vegetable rule.
“Eating what stands on one leg (mushrooms and plant foods) is better
than eating what stands on two legs (fowl), which is better than eating
what stands on four legs (cows and pigs).” An old Chinese proverb.
“Eat animals that have themselves eaten well.”
“Don’t overlook those oily little fishes.” A Dutch proverb proclaims
that “ land with lots of herring can get by with few doctors." Never
thought I would be told to eat more sardines and anchovies!
“Eat only foods that will eventually rot.” Only exception is honey (it
never goes bad).
“Favor the kinds of oils and grains that have traditionally been stoneground.”
There was a time when the only way to produce oil or refine
flour was with a grindstone. When grain is ground this way, it retains
more fiber. And only olive, peanut or sesame oil could be produced in
this fashion.
RULES ABOUT HOW TO EAT
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“Eat less.” A number of other rules are related to that.
“Eat slowly.”
“Spend as much time enjoying the meal as you spent making it.”
“Stop eating before you are full.”
“Eat when you’re hungry, not when you’re bored.”
“Buy smaller plates and cups.”
“Serve a proper portion.” A pretty good gauge: one should eat no more
food at a meal than would fit in a bowl the size formed by cupping
one’s hands together.
“Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper.”
“Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.”
Imagine how much less ice cream and fewer French fries you would
consume if you followed this rule?
“Pay more, eat less.” One grandmother advised that it was “better to
pay the grocer than the doctor.”
“Do all your eating at a table.” Elsewhere, you will eat more.
“Try not to eat alone.” When you do eat alone, you eat more.
“Regard non-traditional foods with skepticism.” Soy is a good example
here. Soy has been around forever and trusted in tofu and soy sauce.
But are we sure all these soy substitutes showing up everywhere are a
good thing?
“Eat more like the French. Or the Japanese. Or the Italians. Or the
Greeks.” It is the food…….most traditional food cultures eat less
processed foods. And it is the eating habits……the French do not
snack!
“Cook” When you cook, you control your own diet.
“Break the rules once in a while.” We have all heard the expression of
advice….."all things in moderation.” Oscar Wilde suggested that the
statement end with, “including moderation.”
And to that point, the rule “Have a glass of wine with dinner.” Amen!
◆

The AFMA Golf Classic has found a new home… We-Ko-Pa! Located on the Fort McDowell Indian
Reservation in the East Valley, We-Ko-Pa is a pure desert course surrounded by spectacular mountain
ranges and desert vistas as far as the eye can see.
292 golfers gathered on March 4 to enjoy a perfect day of golf at the popular AFMA Golf Classic. Soldout
two weeks ahead of schedule, eager golfers were anxious to hit the links at this annual industry event.
This year's exemplary golf committee included: Justin Ogburn, Fry's; Bill Lewis, Arizona Cardinals; Ken
Diehl and Danny Semerjibashian, Albertsons; Doug Sanders, Sprouts; Paul Smith, Phoenix Coke; Chip
Radossevich, Daisy Brands and Randy Ong, Sunflower.
By Debbie Roth
At the end of the day, golfers feasted, imbibed, relaxed and caught up with old friends as $10,000 in
cash prizes were awarded as follows:
TOURNAMENT WINNERS ON THE SAGUARO:
FIRST PLACE: Dan Herndon, Art Flores, Jesus Bravo and Geoff Huston
SECOND PLACE: Blake Little, Pat McDonald, Greg Colyar and Judy Lettow
THIRD PLACE: Ron Parucki, Michael Lawrence, Jim Tallant and Joe Kopelic
TOURNAMENT WINNERS ON THE CHOLLA:
FIRST PLACE: Kevin Easler, Brett Foulds, Jeremy Easton and Mike McMasters
SECOND PLACE: Andy Silvas, Craig Herron, Henry Tervino and David Silvas
THIRD PLACE: Bryon Donaldson, Dave Nichols, John Ward and Tom Ford
SAGUARO CLOSEST TO THE PIN:
Greg Creek, Bryan Durrett and Chris Galante
CHOLLA CLOSEST TO THE PIN:
Mike Evans, John Bonfilio and Tom Ford
SCRATCHER CARD CONTEST:
FIRST PLACE: David Graves
SECOND PLACE: Gary Gallo
THIRD PLACE: Keith Johnson
Page 12 • Arizona Food Industry Journal • April 2010

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9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16
1. (l-r) Tom Foulds, Sprouts; Dave Colemere and Mike Anderson with NSS and Tim Ramsey, Pacific Foods
2. Susan Morris, Albertsons and Marshall Richards, Frito-Lay
3. Golf Classic Committee members Ken Diehl and Danny Semerjibashian with Albertsons
4. "Good Times!" Todd Schlief & Ron Sipenock from Dreyer's
5. "Love those cigars!" Chris Broemmer, Terry Kingston and Matt Neuman with Alliance Beverage and Mike Kajiki with Fry's
6. (l-r) AFMA president Tim McCabe, Bob Butler, Sr. V.P. Marketing and Merchandising for Albertsons LLC and Shane Dorcheus Division
President of Albertsons LLC Southwest.
7. Safeway is represented by (l-r) Frank Conley, Susan Mudd, Bryan Durrett, Cathy Kloos, Frank Cannistra and Safeway president Dan Valenzuela
8. One happy golfer dances to the podium to receive his cash prize
9. Sprouts president & COO Doug Sanders enjoys the after party with Sprouts golfers
10. (l-r) Steve Holcomb, Coke retired; Wayne Manning, Bashas' retired; Marcus Jackson and David Kreitzer with Sara Lee Store Brands
11. Dan Tennessen with the Arizona Cart Retrieval Company announced the cash prizes
12. Tim McCabe, AFMA president welcomes and thanks golfers for their participation
13. AFMA Board Chairman, Ron Parucki from Fry's applauds all the golfers for their support of the AFMA Golf Classic
14. Fry's golf team included: Michael Lawrence, Joe Kopelic, Ron Parucki and Jim Tallant
15. Justin Ogburn and Brett Jones from Fry's
16. AFMA's Raynetta Hughes and Mike Anderson, president of Natural Specialty Sales
Next year's AFMA Golf Classic
returns to We-Ko-Pa on March 3, 2011
April 2010 • Arizona Food Industry Journal • Page 13

EL RANCHO
By Lisa Schnebly Heidinger
M
ost of the time, when we walk into a supermarket, we don’t
feel as if we’ve been transported to a different culture. But that
changes if you walk into El Rancho Market.
While the store is located at 19th Avenue and Dunlap, it could be in
central Mexico. Brightly colored, full of music and art and conversation
and laughter, with tantalizing scents wafting from the huge bakery,
El Rancho Market is 43,000 square feet of what feels like Mexico, only
better. It is sparkling clean, priced in English and within driving
distance from your home.
All this is no accident; it’s the result of months of work by
Elizabeth and Jorge Rascon. This Mexican grocery, which opened
about a year ago, is their American dream come true. And like all
good American dreams, it’s built mostly on labor, with some
perseverance and prayer thrown in. And like many of our greatgrandparents,
who came to this country for a piece of that dream,
Jorge and Elizabeth are both from Mexico.
Elizabeth, an energetic woman with flawless skin and shiny dark
curls, had a teaching degree when she moved to Colorado and met
Jorge. But Jorge, an easygoing man with a quiet demeanor, came with
only a 9th-grade education – and no English. He found a job washing
dishes in a Colorado store, then moved to a Kroger grocery where he
learned meat cutting – and English. After he and Elizabeth met and had
been married for seven years, they decided to open their own store, with
a focus on the Hispanic and Latino customers.
“There’s always a niche if you can find it,” says Jorge. “We came to
Arizona because there weren’t many Hispanics in Colorado.”
First the Rascon's partnered with Elizabeth’s brothers opening their
first carniceria in 1994. After that the couple opened their first El
Rancho Market in 2004 in Chandler. This newest is their pride and joy.
They’ve come a long way from when they opened their first store, and
Jorge credits Elizabeth with getting them this far.
“We all quit our jobs back in Colorado to open the first store, and
after it was built, it was hard to keep it fully stocked. At the beginning
we didn’t have enough customers, so I walked neighborhoods, taking
fliers door to door, gradually drawing in a clientele. At that time we had
one employee. We would pay him, and there was no money left for us.
I would have given up. But Elizabeth said, we would not give up, after
all the hard work. It wasn’t easy, but it was the right thing to do.”
From the moment you walk in, it’s clear El Rancho Market was
created carefully, with no detail left to chance. The music is loud and
upbeat, all the lyrics in Spanish. Bright cutwork strings of flags hang
Page 14 • Arizona Food Industry Journal • April 2010

everywhere. Much of the work area in the bakery and deli is tiled in
clear, bright red. All the floors are finished concrete, and tables in the
eating area are massive and richly finished. Murals are everywhere.
“In Mexico, murals are common,” says Jorge. “We have a wonderful
painter.” So above the bakery are pictures of luscious confections; over
the meat counter are bulls and cows in pastures, and a woman on
horseback. These segue into pastoral scenes of haciendas and missions
over the grocery section. Bright colors abound.
But it is the products themselves, even more than the décor, that
make El Rancho seem like a store you’re wandering through on
vacation south of the border. Huge stainless steel pots invite you to
cook for a party. Massive clear glass jars filled with different
flavored drinks like horchata line the fruit and juice bar.
Everywhere are bright banks – some the traditional piggy shape, but
others are roosters, bulls and panthers. Piñatas hang from the
ceiling. Spices many of us don’t recognize show how many ways to
cook there are. And nowhere is the Mexican flavor more apparent
than in the prepared foods.
The lunch crowd can order tacos with pollo, chorizo, tripa, lengua,
buche – cuts of meat most of us don’t recognize. Pork rinds are sold in the
packages we recognize, but also in sheets the size of tablecloths. The
scent of fresh tortillas is everywhere, and each bite is heaven. Prepared
foods include a variety of fruit-and-yogurt mixes, and the crema, which is
similar to sour cream, but sweeter. Many shoppers have become
disciples after one taste.
Elizabeth and Jorge credit their staff with coming up with some of
the recipes. The chicken salad is particularly good, with a hint of hot
chili, and sells for half the price of most grocery stores.
About half the store has traditional aisles, with both familiar and
unfamiliar products. Dial and Irish Spring soap are here – and so are
soaps with mother of pearl, seaweed, and donkey’s milk. Canned goods
are the usual labels -- and a huge bin of lentils are Verde Valle, from
Mexico.
Jorge wants to share the credit for their success. He mentions
AFMA President Tim McCabe as having been instrumental in working
out an inspection situation with the Department of Health that got
tangled when the inspectors showed up before they were supposed to,
because of miscommunication – and then wouldn’t come back.
McCabe’s intervention finally ironed out the situation. “After a
misunderstanding, he helped us re-file the documents,” says Jorge. “He
re-started the application process, and everything worked out fine.”
Also, IGW President Jim Tooms has been on hand from the
beginning. Every store banner says “El Rancho IGA.” Jim loves the
store. When he comes by and waits for Jorge, the first thing Jorge does
is apologize for keeping him waiting.
“Don’t apologize,” says Jim with a handshake. “I work for you, buddy!”
Jim is pleased that IGA is back in the Valley with the opening of two
El Rancho markets; other than those, all the Arizona IGA stores are in
smaller towns. While IGA is the fourth largest retailer worldwide, with
4400 stores, only 13 of them are in Arizona. Jim raves about what the
Rascons have accomplished.
“Think about the challenge of opening a 43,000 square-foot store,”
he says. “Chains do it with an army of people, from the architects to
planners to foremen to equipment installers. But when you have to deal
with all this, negotiate with landlords, and pick up your kids from
school at three? What they’ve done is amazing.”
The feeling goes both ways. “What IGA does for us, is form a group
of independent grocers, and negotiate a better price using that one
entity,” says Jorge. “It’s nice to belong to this group, because we have
April 2010 • Arizona Food Industry Journal • Page 15

support from each other. He always says, ‘I work for you,’ whenever I
see him.”
The Rascons say both AFMA and IGA provide tremendous
support, keeping them in the loop on legislation, and giving them a
voice as a small independent entity. “IGA and AFMA send us
updates on the new laws,” says Elizabeth. “It’s hard with all the
changes; some of them affect everybody in this business. We’re
grateful they keep us informed.”
Asked how the food tax will affect their business, they shake their
heads. “It’s hard to know,” says Jorge. “But people have only so much
money. I understand the state needs money. I don’t know if this is the
best way to get it.”
With the current economy, the Rascons say just being able to
stay open is good. They have noticed people buying more store
brands, generic foods, and believe that will continue after the
economy improves; shoppers have discovered they’re just as good
as famous labels.
IGA is able to obtain much better prices from suppliers than a
small single grocery store might, but it’s still hard to be an El Rancho
Market in a conglomerate world. While major chains can offer loss
leaders, Jorge says that’s a luxury he doesn’t have. Jim was able to
contract Bashas’ to be El Rancho’s supplier. Now the bankruptcy
hovering over Bashas' puts that arrangement in limbo, but hopefully
not in jeopardy. Jorge says almost reverently he would like very much
to meet Eddie Basha some day. It’s easy to see how this self-made
grocer would respect a local grocer who has not only built an empire,
but seems to have garnered good will from the community he serves.
Still, Jorge shakes his head. If Bashas’ can be threatened by
bankruptcy, no one is truly safe.
Jorge and Elizabeth would have either beamed, or wept with joy, had
they been present when customer Luis Olivas described his El Rancho
experience.
“The most amazing thing about El Rancho market and the reason
I think it is such a success is that it brings back cultural memories.
Recently, I took my mom there. We spent two hours as she picked up
a bag of "nopales", sampled a wedge of farmer's cheese from
Chihuahua and pointed to an odd cut of meat. With each item came a
story of who cooked it, how to cook it or even the last family event
where somebody cooked it.
“El Rancho has also turned out to be a bridge to better communicate
to my wife, Bonnie, about my cultural heritage. I found myself telling
her stories about my childhood whenever we have visited the store. And
the pricing is great.”
“Al pastor” is a way of preparing meat that means “shepherd style”
which Elizabeth says was originally from the Middle East, brought to
Spain with the Moors. The thing that pleases her most is seeing Anglos
and Hispanics shopping alongside women in Indian saris, each buying
her own products – and trying some new ones. She says customers who
buy primarily Anglo products gradually branch out. Recently she tried
to talk a customer out of buying Mexican corn, thinking she wanted the
softer, sweeter American corn.
“She said, ‘no, it’s for soup! I want the Mexican corn!’ Sometimes
someone will talk another customer into trying something, like the
crema. We get more and more Anglos all the time. This store, the way
we see it, is a regular grocery store with a Hispanic flavor, but we’re not
limited to the Hispanic community. We’re trying to offer everything
here, the typical shopper needs, regardless of race. We want to be able
to help and serve the community.”
◆
While the Rascons children, at 17, 13 and 11, like to come to the
store, Jorge and Elizabeth firmly instruct their children to create the
lives and careers they want – whether or not it means another
generation of Rascons in the family business. The oldest one is very
interested, and planning to major in business administration.
“We are proud of our children,” says Jorge. “All of them have
been taught to think of others. All of them are helpful. Our oldest
daughter is good with people, and likes the business. Our son, in the
middle, is more of an engineer; he isn’t so comfortable working with
the public. And our youngest daughter? It is too soon to tell.”
In the meantime, the Rascons focus on what succeeds for them,
which is catering to a local base, and providing such good service
at such good prices that word spreads. While they stock seemingly
every Hispanic product most of us can imagine, part of their service
includes tracking down beloved items not easily available here.
Jorge indicates the Coca-Cola delivered from Mexico, which he
says is smoother than the domestic product, using different sugar.
“But I haven’t been able to get the Mexican Diet Coke – Coca Light
– for an American customer yet.”
But he tries. Customers who come into El Rancho feel at home,
the same way an expatriate American might light up seeing the
golden arches of McDonald’s after a long vacation somewhere
overseas. When a customer can come in at lunch and buy “Turkish
and blended cigarette tobacco” from the case next to the Marlboro
Lights, Hongo Killer Anti Fungal Cream from next to the Jergen’s,
and a large lunch of tacos and horchata just like mother used to
make, the Rascons niche is a secure and good place.
Page 16 • Arizona Food Industry Journal • April 2010

April 2010 • Arizona Food Industry Journal • Page 17

Anyone who gets to carry around a beer tap handle shaped like
a polar bear has an unusual job. Andy Silvas pulls one
triumphantly out of his car after burrowing through a box of
t-shirts, folders and other items related to Alaskan Brewing Co. He
holds up the polar bear handle.
“This is the newest one we have,” he says. That Alaskan Brewing Co.
creates beer tap handles to match each beer fits with the company’s
ethos of doing everything creatively, and nothing halfway. Other beer tap
handles are in the shape of a life preserver (Alaskan Amber) and a pine
tree (Alaskan Winter Ale). Each variety has its own complete design
line. A kayaker adorns the Alaskan Pale Ale label. An orca leaps across
the Alaskan Summer Ale carton. Each of these and all the rest also
include energetic advertising copy explaining the artist’s vision on the
company website. In fact, with its photos of workers, merchandise like
sweatshirts and hats with various company artwork, and stories about
the “Brew Crew” at Alaskan Brewing Co., the company seems like
something Jimmy Buffet would have worked up during the winter.
Silvas says that isn’t far off, in that Buffet is known for being a great
merchandiser, passionate in his attention to detail, and highly concerned
about the future of the world.
“It’s a great place to work. A list came out a couple of years ago
in Outside magazine that had Alaskan Brewing Co. in the top 15
places to work. We have a small base, great benefits. I’ve been here
three years, and I’m lucky. I love all the merchandise, and the stories.”
(While he doesn’t give away the tap handle, it can be purchased off
the website for $45.)
Because the Alaskan Brewing Co. is located in Juneau, Alaska, it is
literally the only imported domestic beer in the United States. Juneau
can be reached only by boat, or plane, so even though it’s a domestic
product, it is imported to the mainland. Silvas has been to the Alaskan
Brewing Co. headquarters several times, and loves the trip.
“For one thing, they bring my whole family, so we all get a vacation
together,” he says. “Then we go in August, so when it’s 100 degrees here,
it’s 50 degrees there.” And Silvas would appreciate that – a secondgeneration
Gilbert boy, as well as a near-constant golfer, those deep
breaths of cool weather in August make a big difference.
“Three summers ago, I got to go fishing up there; they took us to
this beautiful little cove in the Gulf of Alaska. I caught a 37-pound
king salmon, which I had boxed up. We flew in on a floatplane. It’s an
amazing place.”
The story of Alaskan Brewing Co. is short, but the growth is
amazing. Geoff and Marcy Larson were both 28 years old when they
opened their brewery in 1986. Drawing on the legacy of hardy Yukon
settles using the glacial water for carefully made beers, the Alaskan
Brewing Co. was only the 67th brewery in the nation when it was
built 24 years ago, and the first in Alaska since Prohibition. Using a
century-old recipe, the couple and 12 volunteers brewed some 250
cases of what is now known as their Alaskan Amber their first year,
and they haven’t looked back.
That same building has been expanded from 2,300 square feet to
35,000; the two company founders grown to a company of 75
employees. But Silvas is impressed that Geoff and Marcy are still
involved in every facet of production, from checking the quality on the
line to consulting with the design team about a new label.
A big priority of Alaskan Brewing Co. is to be environmentally friendly,
and the company’s commitment is impressive. First, one percent of the
proceeds from Alaska IPA goes to promote the health and sustainability of
the Pacific Ocean and its coastline. The overall company goal is to achieve
a zero-net negative effect, meaning that the company would reclaim and
reuse at least as much waste and emissions as it produces. There are three
innovative techniques helping to achieve that goal.
One is from a CO2 recovery system created in 1998. The technology
captures the greenhouse gas created during the fermentation process,
then cleans and deodorizes it for use in production, instead of having to

ship it in. This saves a whopping 783,000 pounds of
CO2 from being released into the atmosphere
each year.
The second is a grain dryer. While
breweries normally grain left over from
the brewing process, or “spent grain” to
nearby farms, Juneau lacks agricultural
neighbors, and has to ship its spent
grain to Washington State. So Alaskan
Brewing Co. is the only craft brewery
in the nation to use a biomass burner to
dry grain, which burns half the spent
grain as fuel to dry the other half.
For its third innovation, Alaskan Brewing
Co. is also the first craft brewery in the United
States to use a mash filter press of a type popular in
Europe, that uses less water, hops and malt to make the
beer. In one year, the process will use six percent less malt, and save
one million gallons of water.
“Because of this, we save 65,000 gallons of diesel fuel a year,” says
Silvas. “That’s enough for a truck to go around the world 50 times.”
While the Alaskan Brewing Co. website contains an invitation to
visit the brewery in Juneau, Silvas knows few people in his industry can
make the time. So he puts together what he calls deck parties, where not
only the beers come from headquarters, but members of the staff, for
tastings and visits with the clients Silvas has here in the Valley.
Silvas says he wouldn’t be where he is today
without the guidance of Chris Deperisa, who
now works for Fred Nackard Wholesale
Beverage Company. “He brought me up
through the management ranks, from
driver, to dispatcher into management.”
Working his way up in the business,
Silvas says he learned a lot from two
other mentors, Craig Herron and Glenn
Dawson. He called them “really really
good people, and good mentors.” Both
men have close ties with the City of
Hope, and it was partly their example
that lead Silvas to put together golf
tournaments to raise money for causes near
and dear to his heart. (The youngest of four
competitive brothers who still golf together
regularly, Silvas knows first-hand how golf and beer
go together in Arizona.)
One benefit tournament was to help family friends whose five-yearold
son had a brain tumor. That money went to the Tug McGraw
Foundation. Another was to raise money for Hospice Family Care
because Silvas was so grateful for the care his father received before he
passed away last year, and a third series of golf tournaments was for
Hacienda, his father-in-law’s favorite charity. It’s typical of Silvas that he
found a way to accomplish several things at once: generate income for a
good cause, bring people together so that they could enjoy the feeling of
giving, and have fun while doing it. Herron and Dawson can be proud;
their student is ready to become a master.
◆
This is no small investment of time, even though Alaskan Brewing Co.
products are available only in the Western Region of the United States.
Silvas points out with earned pride that for Alaskan Brewing Co. to be the
ninth-ranked in the nation, considering it’s available in only ten states,
speaks to the quality of the products and the enthusiasm of their fans.
Each beer boasts awards presented at the Great American Beer
Festival or an international festival in Europe or Australia. Silvas says his
favorite is the milder Alaskan Amber Ale, although the newest Alaskan
White is a close second. In fact, at the Great Arizona Beer Festival at the
beginning of March, the Alaskan White Ale was awarded third place in
the “Best of Festival” category. He said the one people ask for most at
tastings and deck parties is the Smoked Porter, in which the malt is
smoked over alder wood before the beer is made.
Silvas is a vigorous man, with a barely contained energy. Meeting
at the Karsten Golf Course by ASU, he greets staff members, breaking
off a sentence to tell one young man that he has literature for him
about Alaskan Brewing Co.’s environmental efforts. (He’s found out
in talking to him that the student needs such data for a course project.)
Maybe this interest stems from the fact that he himself came up
through the business from entry level.
“I started at the bottom as a merchandiser with Zeb Pearce and
Sons, then worked my way into the warehouse. Then I went from
driving to dispatching, and then routed drivers as a supervisor. From
there I went into a space management job, following the merger with
Crescent Crown, then national accounts.”

Names In The News
Sprouts Contributes $30,000 in Support
of Autism Research
● Full-service meat and seafood department
● Sushi bar
● Full-service deli
● Starbucks Coffee Shop
● Home Furnishing and Decor Department
● Drive-through pharmacy
● Garden Center
● U. S. Bank
● Expanded Nature’s Market with great nutritional offerings
● The Little Clinic (to open later this year)
● Adjacent fuel center, which opened Feb.24
The town’s new Fry’s Marketplace Store will be managed by Bruce
Yeo, a veteran Fry’s associate with more than 22-years experience. The
store will be staffed with more than 250 employees, which includes 180
new Fry’s employees. “It is an honor and privilege to open the store from
the ground up,” says Yeo. “The staff looks forward to providing our
customers and neighbors with an excellent shopping experience. Our
associates are very knowledgeable and excited to meet the needs of our
valued customers,” he adds.
(L-R): Jamie West, KTAR, Doug Sanders, president and COO Sprouts
and Cindy Sanders
Doug and Cindy Sanders and Sprouts donated $30,000 to the Arizona
Walk Now for Autism Speaks as part of a match telethon on KTAR radio.
Sprouts Farmers Market is the 2010 Walk Visionary Sponsor and Doug is
the Chair of the Arizona Walk. The Walk will be held at Tempe Beach
Park on Sunday, October 31st, 2010.
The new 110,220 square foot store will be open seven days a week
from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. (On March 12 the store opened at 7 a.m.) Grand
Openings festivities began with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 7 a.m. To
celebrate the opening of Fry’s newest store and Fry’s 50th Anniversary of
serving Arizona Customers, the new store:
● Had a drawing for 50 weeks worth of groceries (value $5,000).
Customers were automatically entered in the drawing when
purchasing groceries with their Fry’s VIP Card. One lucky winner
was drawn.
● Awarded $10 Fry’s gift cards to the first 200 shoppers.
● Gave away gift bags of groceries every half hour between 8 a.m
and 7 p.m. on opening day.
● Offered special fuel savings awards (see Fry’s Fuel Saver Rewards
details) between March 12-16 at the new location only.
About Fry’s Food Stores
Fry’s Food Stores is headquartered in Tolleson, Ariz. The company
employs nearly 18,000 Arizona residents and has been serving Arizona
communities for 50 years. As of March 12, the 121 Fry’s Food Stores
(includes newest store) service more than two million customers per
week. This year, Fry’s is proud to celebrate its 50th Anniversary of serving
its many customers and communities.
Fry’s Food Stores is a proud member of the Kroger Co. based in
Cincinnati, Ohio. For more information, visit the company’s Web site
(frysfood.com).
Fry’s Food Stores opened its newest store in Gilbert on Friday, March
12. Store Manager Bruce Yeo (holding scissors) invites their neighbors
and customers to visit and enjoy the new store, which has 250
employees to serve you (180 of these employees are new Fry’s
employees). This year, Fry’s celebrates its 50th Anniversary of serving
Arizona customers and communities.
Mesa Students Compete in Recycling Competition
Fry’s Food Stores Opens its 121st Store in Gilbert
On Friday, March 12 at 7 a.m., Fry’s Food Stores opened a new
110,220 sq. ft. Fry’s Marketplace Store located at 6470 S. Higley Rd. in
Gilbert, Arizona. Some of the store’s features include:
Page 20 • Arizona Food Industry Journal • April 2010

INDUSTRYCALENDAR
Mesa Public Schools, in partnership with Bashas' and Food City
supermarkets, hosted a Plastic Bag Round-Up Recycling Challenge for
elementary students from March 8 to April 2. The competition, held in
honor of Earth Day on April 22, asked students to bring in no-longerneeded
plastic grocery bags to help their class become the top
contributors. The boy and girl who collected the most plastic bags each
won a bike donated by Bashas' and Food City, a 1-hour ride on a City of
Mesa recycle truck and had their photo featured on a recycle truck
billboard sign. A trophy was awarded to the elementary school that
collected the most bags in the district. The plastic bags collected
were taken to a local Bashas' store. From there, Bashas' sent the bags to a
recycling facility for processing.
The City of Mesa’s goal for the students was to collect and recycle
one ton of plastic grocery bags.
Mesa residents were encouraged to continue recycling their plastic
grocery bags by taking them back to their local grocery retailer. The city
of Mesa says source reduction is an even better option and can be
accomplished by reducing the number of grocery bags used or by using
reusable bags instead. According to the Environmental Protection
Agency, approximately 2.9 million tons of bags, sacks and wraps were
generated in 2008 but only 390 thousand tons were recycled, equaling a
13.4 percent recovery rate. ◆
AFMA BOARD PROFILE
Jeffrey A. Nelson
Jeff is the President and Chief
Operating Officer of Co-Sales
Company. Beginning his career
with Viles & Associates in 1980, Jeff
joined the Co-Sales team in 1990.
He has been a member of the
AFMA Board of Directors for four
years and is currently the 2nd Vice
Chairman. "Serving on the AFMA Board provides a great
opportunity to give back to our Industry while working
with trade leadership to solve current issues that
challenge our Industry."
When asked, What does AFMA mean to you? Jeff
replied. "AFMA provides an opportunity for the grocery
and convenience store industry to be heard as one
significant voice."
In his spare time, Jeff is a member of a nationally
ranked Arizona Softball team (Fangrabber Softball Club)
playing in the Major - Plus Division.
APRIL 19, 2010
DAY AT THE CAPITOL
House Lawn
Phoenix, AZ
●
APRIL 17-21, 2010
89TH ANNUAL WAFC CONVENTION
JW Marriott Desert Springs
Palm Desert, CA
●
APRIL 23, 2010
7-ELEVEN FOA GOLF TOURNAMENT
Raven Golf Club
Phoenix, AZ
●
MAY 3, 2010
CARDINAL CHARITIES GOLF CLASSIC
Whirlwind Golf Club
Phoenix, AZ
●
MAY 7, 2010
CITY OF HOPE GOLF TOURNAMENT
Whirlwind Golf Club
Phoenix, AZ
●
MAY 8, 2010
CITY OF HOPE CELEBRATION BALL
Sheraton Wild Horse Pass
Phoenix, AZ
●
MAY 10-13, 2010
FMI 2010
Mandalay Bay Convention Center
Las Vegas, NV
●
AUGUST 24-27, 2010
LEAGUE OF CITIES & TOWNS
Glendale, AZ
●
OCTOBER 7, 2010
AFC GOLF TOURNAMENT
Legacy Golf Resort
Phoenix, AZ
●
OCTOBER 31, 2010
ARIZONA WALK NOW FOR AUTISM SPEAKS
Tempe Beach Park
Tempe, AZ
●
NOVEMBER 19, 2010
EXCELLENCE IN LEADERSHIP AWARDS
Downtown Sheraton
Phoenix, AZ
●
MARCH 3, 2011
AFMA GOLF CLASSIC
We-Ko-Pa
Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation
April 2010 • Arizona Food Industry Journal • Page 21

Page 22 • Arizona Food Industry Journal • April 2010