With a $365 million capital investment, Food Lion has enhanced the
customer shopping experience with remodeled stores in the greater
Raleigh-Durham, NC, area and Mecklenburg County, VA. On Aug. 21,
Food Lion will hold ribbon-cutting events at 167 stores in the
omnichannel retailer’s greater Raleigh-Durham market, which is
among the fastest growing areas nationwide. In addition to
providing an easier and affordable shopping experience, Food Lion
supports the towns and cities it serves by collaborating with local
organizations to address food insecurity and nourish neighbors and
their families experiencing hunger.
The investment includes an extensive product assortment with a
specific focus on a variety of affordable and easy meal solutions
that are ready-to-eat, ready-to-cook or ready-to-heat. In addition,
stores will feature fresh & simple™ branded meals. Inspired by
customer and associate feedback, nearly all stores are introducing
self-checkout lanes for an enhanced and efficient shopping
experience, allowing customers to choose between traditional
cashier-assisted checkout or self-checkout options. Additionally,
Food Lion continues to invest in training and developing associates
to provide the best customer experience. While renovating and
refreshing its look, the modernized stores reflect Food Lion’s
continued commitment to the towns and cities it serves, providing
an easy, fresh and affordable shopping experience.
“For nearly 50 years, Food Lion has been committed to caring for
our neighbors in the Raleigh-Durham area,” said Meg Ham, President,
Food Lion. “We take pride in serving generations of families and
are thrilled to extend that warm welcome to existing and new
families in their remodeled Food Lion store. Enhancements were
made with our customers in mind. They’ll discover a refreshed look
and feel, and more convenient grab-and-go items that make life
easier. Our customers can continue to count on Food Lion to
help nourish their families as we provide an easy, fresh and
affordable omnichannel shopping experience.”
On Aug. 21, the newly remodeled stores will hold a
ribbon-cutting ceremony at 7:45 a.m. Afterward, the first 100
customers in line will receive giveaways and a gift card with a
chance to win a grand prize of $1,000 in Food Lion gift cards.
Learn more about store hours of operation, specific services each
store offers and the weekly ad flyer.
Remodeled stores include new features for easy, fresh
and affordable shoppingStore upgrades include an extensive
product assortment, including fresh produce, quality meats and many
other products to meet individual and family needs with a specific
focus on simple meal solutions and time-saving options. Customers
also have a large selection of organic, gluten-free and plant-based
items to choose from including Nature’s Promise, Food Lion’s
affordable brand of wholesome and organic products made with no
artificial flavors, preservatives or synthetic colors.
Through its Local Goodness program, Food Lion stores offer a
wide variety of regional items sourced from local growers or
manufacturers, serving customers in a more meaningful way with
products that are the heart and soul of the community. The enhanced
locally grown assortment includes 25-30 seasonal produce items such
as squash, cucumbers, greens, berries and melons. Through the end
of summer, customers can find items such as bulk pickling
cucumbers, green peanuts and a variety of tomatoes. For the fall,
the stores will offer muscadine grapes and an assorted variety of
seasonal apples. A list of additional North Carolina-based
suppliers that may be featured in the store can be found
online.
Food Lion’s enhancements also include offering convenience for
shoppers by featuring an eCommerce solution in all stores,
including Food Lion To Go Pickup and/or Home Delivery options.
Online orders may be placed on the Food Lion To Go website or
through the app. The convenient service allows customers to place
an order with the click of a button while experiencing the same low
prices and fresh food items they receive in the store.
Demonstrating care for its neighbors and communities with a
commitment to sustainability, Food Lion’s enhanced stores feature
energy-efficient LED lighting and refrigerated cases with doors to
help reduce its environmental footprint. The modern solutions
impart ambiance, enhance fresh product assortment and decrease
energy consumption, helping support Food Lion’s sustainability
commitments while reducing costs. Based on its longtime
sustainability measures, Food Lion is the only company in the
country to receive the ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award from
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of
Energy for 23 consecutive years.
Food Lion Feeds supports partner food banks to increase
access to nutritious foodWorking in partnership to help
address food insecurity, Food Lion has contributed $50,000 through
its hunger-relief platform, Food Lion Feeds, to benefit Inter-Faith
Food Shuttle in Raleigh, NC. The investment funds the nonprofit’s
culinary apprenticeship program. Designed to break the cycle of
poverty, students gain hands-on culinary training and paid work
experience to prepare for careers in the food service industry.
“Our Culinary Apprenticeship Program tackles the root causes of
hunger by addressing unemployment, meeting industry demand, and
empowering underserved communities. By equipping individuals with
culinary skills, we foster economic growth and strengthen food
security,” said L. Ron Pringle, President and Chief Executive
Officer, Inter-Faith Food Shuttle. “We are proud to provide
participants with state-of-the-art classroom space, made possible
by the unwavering support of Food Lion Feeds, a longtime partner
committed to our mission.”
Food Lion Feeds also helps to address critical needs by working
with the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina. The
hunger-relief platform is providing $200,000 toward purchasing a
refrigerated tractor-trailer to help support their pop-up markets
across the Triangle area, increasing access to nutritious food and
enabling them to respond to the rising demand for families
experiencing hunger. The refrigerated truck holds an average of
40,000 pounds of food and will allow the food bank to distribute
approximately 700,000 pounds of food throughout the Raleigh area
annually.
Additionally, each Food Lion store regularly donates unsaleable
edible food that might otherwise go to waste to local feeding
agencies to support their clients’ nutritional needs. More than 20
years ago, Food Lion was the first grocery retailer in the country
to establish a food rescue program with Feeding America®, the
nation’s largest domestic hunger relief organization. In 2023, Food
Lion stores in the Raleigh-Durham area donated more than 8 million
pounds through food rescue to the Food Bank of Central &
Eastern North Carolina in Raleigh, NC, Second Harvest Food Bank of
Southeast North Carolina in Fayetteville, NC, and Feed More in
Richmond, VA.
Beginning Aug. 27, Food Lion associates will lead a volunteer
tour throughout the greater Raleigh-Durham area. Food Lion Feeds
will donate more than 3,900 pounds of food to local pantries and
associates will stock the shelves. Additionally, Food Lion Feeds
will provide $5,000 in Food Lion gift cards. The following
community feeding partners will benefit from this effort:
Community Feeding Partner |
Location |
Volunteer Tour Date |
Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina Pop-up Market at
St. Augustine University |
Raleigh, NC |
Aug. 27 |
Christians United Outreach Center of Lee County, NC |
Sanford, NC |
Sept. 5 |
Community of Hope Ministries |
Garner, NC |
Sept. 5 |
Union Mission Food Pantry Ministry |
Roanoke Rapids, NC |
Sept. 5 |
Tri-Area Ministry Food Pantry |
Wake Forest, NC |
Sept. 11 |
North Carolina Central University |
Durham, NC |
Sept. 12 |
Concerned Citizens of Tillery* |
Tillery, NC |
Sept. 12 |
Shaw University |
Raleigh, NC |
Sept. 13 |
Beauty Spot Missionary Baptist Church Outreach Ministry* |
Fayetteville, NC |
Sept. 13 |
In addition to the volunteer tour, associates volunteer at
hunger relief events year-round to support community feeding
partners in their mission to nourish neighbors and increase access
to nutritious food. Through Food Lion Feeds, the omnichannel
retailer has donated more than 1.2 billion meals to individuals and
families since 2014 and has committed to donating 1.5 billion meals
by 2025. For more information on Food Lion Feeds’ commitment to
fighting hunger, visit foodlion.com/feeds.
*This volunteer effort is part of Food Lion Feeds’ annual event,
The Great Pantry Makeover, where Food Lion associates remodel and
stock the shelves of food pantries across its 10-state operating
area to provide sustainable and impactful solutions. More than 30
organizations will benefit from this effort that takes place every
September to align with Hunger Action Month, a time when Food Lion
Feeds deepens its extensive relationship with Feeding
America®.
About Food LionFood Lion is an omnichannel
grocery retailer committed to nourishing its neighbors. More than
82,000 associates across 1,100+ stores deliver an easy, fresh and
affordable shopping experience throughout 10 Southeastern and
Mid-Atlantic states. With a focus on hunger relief, Food Lion is a
pioneer in food rescue. In 2014, Food Lion Feeds was created and
has since donated more than 1.2 billion meals to those who are food
insecure. The retailer has committed to donate 1.5 billion meals by
2025. Founded and based in Salisbury, N.C., since 1957, Food Lion
is a company of Ahold Delhaize USA, the U.S. division of
Zaandam-based Ahold Delhaize. For more information,
visit foodlion.com.
CONTACTS: |
Food Lion
Media Relations |
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704-245-3317 |
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publicrelationsteam@foodlion.com |
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A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ead4e4a3-8752-4b81-8e39-be10576c5467