Category: Feature

Congratulations to our 2021/2022 Nourish U Safeway Graduates

Posted on by Daniela Travierso

Safeway is committed to supporting our teammates in striving for greatness — and when they achieve success, we celebrate together.

We’re so pleased to share that 10 Safeway teammates in B.C. have successfully completed the 2021/2022 Corporate Nourish U Management Training Program.

Teammate Program & Department Store
Cameron Burt DMT Produce Kensington Safeway
Jennifer Gardiner DMT Produce Arbutus Safeway
Kevin Kendrick DMT Grocery Penticton Safeway
Robert Verhelst DMT Produce Trail Safeway
Crystal Carmen La France DMT Produce King Edward Safeway
Raeleena Hunt DMT Grocery Robson Safeway
Nataliia Poluiko DMT Grocery Parkgate Safeway
Kelsey Stade SMT Broadway & Commercial Safeway
Marina Vick SMT Burquitlam Safeway
Kristian Cecchin SMT Austin Road Safeway

Let’s hear directly from a couple grads on what this rewarding experience meant to them.

“The Nourish U program has provided me with the information and skills I need to perform every aspect of my job confidently and proficiently. My knowledge from this program will continue on with me in my current role and future roles with the company. I’m also very excited to be part of the future of Nourish U as a trainer to help develop our future leaders!”

—Kelsey Stade, Broadway & Commercial Safeway, SMT Nourish U graduate

“When I applied for the Nourish U program, I wasn’t sure how the experience would go as my skills as a leader were still in development. However, over the course of the program, I improved my leadership skills as well as my confidence in providing a voice to my fellow teammates.

The support from the individuals I encountered in the program was absolutely priceless. The alumni weren’t kidding around about how great it is! This program is an awesome opportunity to not only pursue and achieve your career goals, but to also become a better version of yourself. Best of luck to all future applicants. I hope you find success in your careers as much as I have.”

—Robert Verhelst, Trail Safeway, DMT Nourish U graduate

A big congratulations to each graduate. We couldn’t be prouder to have you as part of the Safeway family, and can’t wait to see all that you accomplish in your career journey with us.

Nourish U is our leadership development program for corporate Store Manager (SMT) and Department Manager (DMT) training. It’s the very best opportunity to immerse yourself in our operations, get to know our teammates, and understand our products. But Nourish U is more than just an education tool — it’s the engine that kick starts our culture, brings together our brightest minds, and establishes a foundation for every successful career at Safeway.

If you’re interested in applying for an upcoming Nourish U Program cohort, visit the Nourish U tile in the People Portal for more information, or speak to your manager who’s always available to help.

Kicking off bargaining with UFCW 247

Posted on by Daniela Travierso

Last week, we sat down with UFCW 247 and the Safeway bargaining committee, eager to work collaboratively to begin bargaining for a new collective agreement. There’s a lot for us to discuss over the coming weeks and we’re here to listen.

Its been quite some time since we last bargained in 2019, and a lot has changed in our store network and across our province since then. We’ve come a long way and made some positive changes to the business.

  • We opened new stores in Austin Heights, Arbutus and Davie Street.
  • We remodeled many stores including West Broadway and Fort St. John, to name a few.
  • We converted 16 Safeway stores to FreshCo stores, and though this was difficult for many teammates, it helped us attract new customers by providing the store format and shopping options they may have been going to our competitors for.
  • We ran three successful meat cutter training cohorts with a fourth cohort starting this April.

Now more than ever, we need to prepare ourselves for the future. In the coming years, we’ll face many challenges with the uncertain economy, the extremely competitive grocery industry, and evolving customer needs and wants.

Reaching an agreement that balances the needs and goals of our teammates, and the operational and competitive requirements of our stores will help set us up for success.

Our focus at the table will be on investing in our valued Safeway teammates, modernizing the collective agreement, and addressing areas of competitive disadvantage specific to our meat, deli and seafood business. We want to support the future growth of the Safeway banner in B.C. for years to come.

We know that many of the conversations over the next few months will impact you and your families. That’s why its important to us that you stay informed. We’ll keep you updated on SafewayTalks.ca as bargaining continues.

Kicking off bargaining with UFCW 1518

Posted on by Daniela Travierso

Last week, we sat down with UFCW 1518 and the Safeway bargaining committee, eager to work collaboratively to begin bargaining for a new collective agreement. There’s a lot for us to discuss over the coming weeks and we’re here to listen.

Its been quite some time since we last bargained in 2018, and a lot has changed in our store network and across our province since then. We’ve come a long way and made some positive changes to the business.

  • We opened new stores in Austin Heights, Arbutus and Davie Street.
  • We remodeled many stores including West Broadway and Fort St. John, to name a few.
  • We introduced Voila in-store fulfillment as a new offering for our customers to help drive sales.
  • We converted 16 Safeway stores to FreshCo stores, and though this was difficult for many teammates, it helped us attract new customers by providing the store format and shopping options they may have been going to our competitors for.

Now more than ever, we need to prepare ourselves for the future. In the coming years, we’ll face many challenges with the uncertain economy, the extremely competitive grocery industry, and evolving customer needs and wants.

Reaching an agreement that balances the needs and goals of our teammates, and the operational and competitive requirements of our stores will help set us up for success.

Our focus at the table will be on investing in our valued Safeway teammates, modernizing the collective agreement, and addressing areas of competitive disadvantage. We want to support the future growth of the Safeway banner in B.C. for years to come.

We know that many of the conversations over the next few months will impact you and your families. That’s why its important to us that you stay informed. We’ll keep you updated on SafewayTalks.ca as bargaining continues.

Thank you for helping us raise more than $25,000 for local food banks!

Posted on by Daniela Travierso

On behalf of our food bank partners, a huge thank you to our Ontario Safeway teams for your ongoing commitment to our communities and food bank partners. The need is at a record high, and every single dollar raised will help fill the shelves at our local food banks.

We’re happy to share that our Ontario Safeway teammates and customers came together to raise more than $25,000 in support of local food banks and food programs in our communities.

In total, $4.6 million was raised in food and funds across all Sobeys Inc. banners. An impressive $3.1 million was raised from December 1 – 23. The Sobeys Inc. match weekend on December 17 – 18, resulted in an additional $250,000, bringing the total funds raised to $3.3 million. In addition to customer donations, $1.3 million in food bank hamper sales took place from November through December.

To you, our teammates, who brought this campaign to life — a HUGE thank you for your incredible fundraising efforts! The funds you helped raise will directly support hungry families in your communities, and you should feel so proud of the difference you’re making in someone’s life.

Thank you for helping us raise more than $98,000 for local food banks!

Posted on by Daniela Travierso

On behalf of our food bank partners, a huge thank you to our Manitoba Safeway teams for your ongoing commitment to our communities and food bank partners. The need is at a record high, and every single dollar raised will help fill the shelves at our local food banks.

We’re happy to share that our Manitoba Safeway teammates and customers came together to raise more than $98,000 in support of local food banks and food programs in our communities.

In total, $4.6 million was raised in food and funds across all Sobeys Inc. banners. An impressive $3.1 million was raised from December 1 – 23. The Sobeys Inc. match weekend on December 17 – 18, resulted in an additional $250,000, bringing the total funds raised to $3.3 million. In addition to customer donations, $1.3 million in food bank hamper sales took place from November through December.

To you, our teammates, who brought this campaign to life — a HUGE thank you for your incredible fundraising efforts! The funds you helped raise will directly support hungry families in your communities, and you should feel so proud of the difference you’re making in someone’s life.

Thank you for helping us raise more than $600,000 for local food banks!

Posted on by Daniela Travierso

On behalf of our food bank partners, a big thank you to our Alberta Safeway teams for your ongoing commitment to our communities and food bank partners. The need is at a record high, and every single dollar raised will help fill the shelves at our local food banks.

We’re happy to share that our Alberta Safeway teammates and customers came together to raise more than $600,000 in support of local food banks and food programs in our communities.

In total, $4.6 million was raised in food and funds across all Sobeys Inc. banners. An impressive $3.1 million was raised from December 1 – 23. The Sobeys Inc. match weekend on December 17 – 18, resulted in an additional $250,000, bringing the total funds raised to $3.3 million. In addition to customer donations, $1.3 million in food bank hamper sales took place from November through December.

To you, our teammates, who brought this campaign to life — a HUGE thank you for your incredible fundraising efforts! The funds you helped raise will directly support hungry families in your communities, and you should feel so proud of the difference you’re making in someone’s life.

A big round of applause for Karen, cashier at Southgate Safeway (Edmonton, AB), who raised more than $1,400.

One of our cashiers, Kathy, at Leduc Safeway proudly supporting this initiative. With her efforts, she helped raise more than $900 for local food banks and food programs.

Thank you for helping us raise more than $240,000 for local food banks!

Posted on by Daniela Travierso

On behalf of our food bank partners, a huge thank you to our British Columbia Safeway teams for your ongoing commitment to our communities and food bank partners. The need is at a record high, and every single dollar raised will help fill the shelves at our local food banks.

We’re happy to share that our B.C. Safeway teammates and customers came together to raise more than $240,000 in support of local food banks and food programs in our communities.

In total, $4.6 million was raised in food and funds across all Sobeys Inc. banners. An impressive $3.1 million was raised from December 1 – 23. The Sobeys Inc. match weekend on December 17 – 18, resulted in an additional $250,000, bringing the total funds raised to $3.3 million. In addition to customer donations, $1.3 million in food bank hamper sales took place from November through December.

To you, our teammates, who brought this campaign to life — a HUGE thank you for your incredible fundraising efforts! The funds you helped raise will directly support hungry families in your communities, and you should feel so proud of the difference you’re making in someone’s life.

Thank you for helping us raise more than $70,000 for local food banks!

Posted on by Daniela Travierso

On behalf of our food bank partners, a huge thank you to our Saskatchewan Safeway teams for your ongoing commitment to our communities and food bank partners. The need is at a record high, and every single dollar raised will help fill the shelves at our local food banks.

We’re happy to share that our Saskatchewan Safeway teammates and customers came together to raise more than $70,000 in support of local food banks and food programs in our communities.

In total, $4.6 million was raised in food and funds across all Sobeys Inc. banners. An impressive $3.1 million was raised from December 1 – 23. The Sobeys Inc. match weekend on December 17 – 18, resulted in an additional $250,000, bringing the total funds raised to $3.3 million. In addition to customer donations, $1.3 million in food bank hamper sales took place from November through December.

To you, our teammates, who brought this campaign to life — a HUGE thank you for your incredible fundraising efforts! The funds you helped raise will directly support hungry families in your communities, and you should feel so proud of the difference you’re making in someone’s life.

Teammates at Southland Mall Safeway (Regina, SK) proudly supporting this initiative.

Safeway Local Supplier Spotlight: Bee Kind Honey

Posted on by Daniela Travierso

We’ve been supporting local suppliers for as long as we can remember, and helping our Canadian food entrepreneurs flourish continues to be an important part of who we are and what we stand for.

There are few things we love more than sourcing and celebrating the great local products from communities right across our country. We’re so proud to partner with hundreds of local suppliers to not only bring the best products to our stores, but invest in our own local communities.

A great example of this comes from our partnership with British Columbia-native, Kirsten Brolin, who is the owner and founder of Bee Kind Honey. We sat down with Kirsten to learn more about the journey she took to create her company.

Kirsten, can you share a little bit about your background and how your company came to be?

I’m a Realtor by profession, but farming has been my passion since I was a young adult living in Pemberton, raising chickens, turkeys and pheasants. In 2012, a tragedy struck our family that left me to raise my two young children on my own.

As our household needs changed, so did the size of the livestock we kept. Living on a small city lot, my only option was honey bees. So, in 2019, my formal education in Commercial Beekeeping began — and I was hooked! Bee Kind Honey was born that same year. With a lot of competition in the honey market, I decided to infuse my honey with different flavours and ingredients.

Can you tell us more about Bee Kind Honey’s products?

As a proud honey producer, we have around 200 bee hives in the South Surrey, Langley and Aldergrove areas. Bee Kind Honey is currently available in eight infused flavours — chili, lemon, garlic, mint, vanilla, espresso, ginger, and lavender — as well as four iced flavours: cacao, cinnamon, cranberry, and chai. We’re focused on producing quality local honey with whole ingredients for our infusions, opposed to using essential oils or extracts.

All of our products are 100% natural, made with unpasteurized honey and no additives or preservatives. We strongly believe in buying local, so whenever possible, we use locally sourced flowers, roots, and herbs.

As your business began to grow, why were you interested in working with Safeway?

Knowing that Sobeys Inc. and Safeway support local suppliers, a good friend of mine encouraged me to visit my local grocery store and speak to the store manager about my products. Eager to appeal to a larger retail market, I took her advice!

After looking at the honey options on the shelves, I approached the store manager and suggested that he add some local honey on there, too, and that I had something his customers would enjoy. I was amazed that he took the time to introduce me to head office and advocate for my products to be listed in the local program. I’m forever grateful!

What did it feel like when you saw your products on Safeway shelves for the first time?

I was so excited when I saw my products on the shelves. I bought a few jars right away and posted the news on my social media. The amount of time and hard work it took to get my products to this point was very satisfying to see. I even shed a couple of tears quietly in the store aisle.

What makes you most proud to partner with Safeway? 

I couldn’t imagine partnering with a better company than Safeway. There’s such a large focus on local foods in stores and I truly believe that customers appreciate it. I know I certainly do!

I was touched to see the “Local” shelf tag on my display highlighting me as a female entrepreneur. Thank you to all the teammates that go the extra distance to promote my products and other local products. It doesn’t go unnoticed!

What growth has Bee Kind Honey seen since partnering with Safeway?

Before partnering with Safeway last year, our main revenue was from farmers’ markets and some small retail stores. Since being on Safeway store shelves, our products have become well-recognized and sales have grown exponentially. I love hearing from people that they bought my product at Safeway. There’s nothing more rewarding than that!

What’s next for you and your business?

I’ve partnered with Venture Park Labs in Calgary to scale up my production and distribution in the coming months. I’m so excited for what’s to come and I’m ready for it!

Bee Kind Honey is available in 16 Safeway stores in Lower Mainland B.C. (with plans to expand!) and in 16 Thrifty Foods locations in the Vancouver and Victoria area. Bee sure to keep an eye out for these jars the next time you’re in store.

Stay tuned to Safeway Talks for more Safeway Local Supplier Spotlights coming your way soon!

A day of remembrance

Posted on by Daniela Travierso

Today, on November 11, let us pay tribute to the many Canadian heroes, both past and present, who have fought and sacrificed for our beautiful country. For without their sacrifices, the freedoms we enjoy today would not be possible.

As a team with such deep Canadian roots, it’s important that we take a moment to pause and reflect on the courage and bravery of those who served, and continue to serve, our great nation. We will wear our poppies with pride today to honour them.

The following will be read over the PA system in our Safeway stores at 11:00 a.m. this morning to observe a moment of silence:

“Please join us now for two minutes of silence, to honour and remember the men and women who have; and continue to serve Canada in times of war, military conflict and peace. During this time of reflection, we pause to thank and remember our Fallen.”

Today and always, #CanadaRemembers.