There’s strength in community—when we as an industry lock arms together in order to tackle a challenge head-on. C&S Wholesale Grocers and US Foods are two buy-side leaders doing exactly that, announcing a partnership to combat job and food insecurities as a way of mitigating the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on the supply chain.
“We are proud to be working with C&S Wholesale Grocers as its role in our communities increases in importance,” said Pietro Satriano, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of US Foods. “This partnership is an excellent example of the ways in which we are leveraging our distribution capabilities in new ways to support our nation’s retailers, and we value this important opportunity.”
According to a press release, US Foods partners with approximately 300,000 restaurants and foodservice operators to help their businesses succeed, and recently announced a strategy to help support these businesses as well as grocery retailers during this time.
Due to the increasing restrictions imposed by the federal and state government in response to COVID-19, American’s consumption behaviors have shifted, resulting in more grocery purchases and significantly fewer dine-out opportunities.
“We are very excited about our partnership with US Foods, which will keep the food supply chain strong despite challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mike Duffy, Chief Executive Officer, C&S Wholesale Grocers. “We are taking the steps necessary to onboard and train members of US Foods’ workforce to ensure our warehouses are staffed and deliveries are on the road, enabling families access to food across the country.”
The partnership will allow C&S Wholesale Grocers to alleviate a potential worker shortage stemming from increased food retail demands, while transferring US Foods personnel to similar job functions wherein demand is lacking in the foodservice industry.
“For more than 100 years, it has been our mission to keep communities fed. We are vigilantly monitoring this situation around the clock and are in constant communication with government authorities and industry associations to ensure that we are doing everything possible to make sure everyone has access to food,” Duffy continued. “We’re thankful to have members of the US Foods team join us in keeping operations moving and store shelves stocked.”
What other buy-side heavyweights will team up to keep the supply chain and our industry's workforce strong as COVID-19 continues to develop? Deli Market News will continue to report.
