Category: Alberta

For Safeway teammates, giving back to the causes close to home has always been second nature. In fact, it’s been more than a decade that teammates have proudly participated in the Safeway payroll donation program.

A few dollars from each paycheque truly go a long way in supporting the organizations that make a tangible difference in the lives of Alberta families. This is especially true for the children who receive care at the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary and the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton.

In 2020, our Alberta teammates donated more than $178,000 to the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation through the payroll donation program. This gift will have a direct impact on three hospital programs:

Mental health care – Facing Your Fears program

The Facing Your Fears program helps high-functioning autistic children identify their worries and tackle them head-on. Guided by a team of experts that includes psychologists, occupational therapists, and speech and language therapists, the 14-week program empowers kids and their parents with a suite of new coping skills and strategies through classes, workbooks and training sessions.

Mental health research

When a child suffers from anxiety or depression, the right medication can be transformative. Using the DNA in children’s saliva, experts will be able to better tailor medications to a child based on genetic markers. The data will provide scientists with invaluable information that will enable future discoveries and better treatment.

Rotary Flames House

The Rotary Flames House, located next door to the Alberta Children’s Hospital, is one of only six pediatric hospices in Canada and the only one in Alberta. Expert care is provided by a team of trained health care professionals committed to ensuring that each child and their family’s physical, developmental, emotional, spiritual and cultural needs are met in a sensitive and compassionate manner. Through donations like that from our Safeway teammates, the Rotary Flames House is able to provide a wide range of services for this special group of patients and their families.

In addition, more than $48,000 was donated through the payroll donation program to the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation to help expand round-the-clock mental health support to children, youth and families. Stollery will be able to create integrated mental health services within the emergency department, boost 24/7 helpline support, and create a separate walk-in clinic to provide timely access to an expert team of nurses, social workers, therapists, and child and adolescent psychiatrists.

But you didn’t just stop there. By working together, our Alberta Safeway teammates collectively donated close to $77,000 to the Heart and Stroke Foundation to support a strong future for HeartSmart Kids — a program designed in collaboration with Indigenous communities. HeartSmart Kids is a unique classroom and family resource that takes a wholistic approach to improving health using a comprehensive set of tools, tactics and resources. This no-charge education program is offered to Indigenous children from kindergarten to grade six and includes grade-appropriate resources to make an impact on students and families with the tools they need for long, healthy lives.

Thank you, Alberta Safeway teammates, for your passion to serve your communities and help those most vulnerable when they need it most. Your efforts don’t go unnoticed! By working together, we can truly make a difference for families across our province.

Did you hear? The Starbucks at Windermere Safeway in Edmonton made waves this summer with a new challenge.

To commemorate Random Acts of Kindness Week, children in the community were asked to paint a kindness rock to give the Starbucks Siren Mermaid her shimmering tail and smile back. And sure enough, more than 60 kids got in on the fun!

This unique challenge is yet another incredible example of how our store teammates go above and beyond to engage with their community to spread goodwill.

Check out some of the super cool rocks:

 

And here’s the Starbucks Siren Mermaid with her shimmering tail and smile back:

A special shout out goes out to Starbucks Operator Maybelline Lee for creating this challenge that meaningfully engaged with the community — spreading kindness and positivity in a time when it’s needed most.

Thank you, Maybelline, for living out our community-engaged Value and inspiring other teammates to find a way to do the same.

Do you have an idea to better engage with your community and customers? Be sure to share with your Store Manager. They’re always there to support you!

As part of Sobeys Inc.’s plan to win market share and grow our business in Western Canada, we are announcing a relocated Safeway, one new FreshCo and one new Chalo! location in Alberta.

We’re excited to continue investing in the Safeway brand with the relocation of Safeway Okotoks. We know customers in the local community are looking for the highest quality products, paired with exceptional customer service – a perfect fit for our Full-Service store model. The new 47,000 square foot store will bolster the trusted Safeway brand, featuring a new and expanded Pharmacy, Starbucks, full-service Meat and Seafood Departments, scratch bakery and restaurant-quality deli and kitchen. In Spring 2023 Safeway Okotoks will close and at the same time a beautiful new Safeway store will open in the community of D’arcy Ranch (North Okotoks).

The Safeway Medicine Hat Mall will be closing in January 2022 for redevelopment and re-opening as FreshCo in Fall 2023. Additionally, Chalo! Cornerstone in NE Calgary will also open in the Spring of 2023. The Medicine Hat Mall gas bar will permanently close in January 2022.

We continue to invest in our full-service grocery stores which is an integral part of our customer offer and a valued part of our business. By expanding our store network to include full-service Safeway stores, as well as additional discount FreshCo stores, we are better equipped to win market share by having customers shop with our company rather than discount competitors.

We will be working closely with impacted teammates and where applicable, the respective unions, to ensure the terms of their collective agreements are met and to provide support through this transition.

We are sincerely grateful for our teammates’ commitment and dedicated service to Safeway.

Stay up-to-date at SafewayTalks.ca.

 

In January, we shared an update on our Project Horizon strategy and our commitment to putting our stores first. After having meaningful conversations with our store teams, we recognized an opportunity to enhance operational support for Alberta stores and developed a solid plan to do so through the creation of a Director of Execution Support (DES) position, supported by a team of ten Execution Specialists (ES).

Today, we’re so proud to announce that all of the Execution roles have been fulfilled and we’re excited to introduce our new Execution Specialist teammates to the Safeway team!

Kelsey Cole has taken on the role of Director of Execution Support and will oversee the ten Execution Specialists across Northern and Southern Alberta.

Together, this team of Specialists will provide significant support for our stores through high caliber teamwork, clear lines of communication and nurturing a culture of success. The Specialists will work collaboratively with the stores, District Operators, MRO’s and backstage partners to propel Alberta’s success.

Through coaching, mentoring and training, the Execution Specialists will provide stores the tools, best practices, innovative ideas and program deliverance that will help guide a consistent and flawless execution.

We’re so proud to welcome our ten Execution Specialists:

Southern Alberta:

• Chris MacLean, Meat/Seafood, Southern Alberta
• Tracey Holdsworth, Deli/HMR, Southern Alberta
• Allison Byrne, Bakery/Coffee, Southern Alberta
• Jamie Karmin, Produce/Floral, Southern Alberta
• Devon DeCae, Grocery/Front End, Southern Alberta

Northern Alberta:

• Kevin Kennedy, Meat/Seafood, Northern Alberta
• Marlene Hayden, Deli/HMR, Northern Alberta
• Gail Larson, Bakery/Coffee, Northern Alberta
• Christian Melo, Produce/Floral, Northern Alberta
• Amrinder Singh, Grocery/Front End, Northern Alberta

Congratulations to our Execution Specialists on their new positions!

From February 11-25, 2021, Safeway stores across the Alberta Division raised critical funds for school meal programs in their local community as part of the Toonies for Tummies campaign. The annual campaign is an opportunity for the grocery industry to come together in support of school-aged kids facing food insecurity.

Together, our teammates and customers in the Alberta Division raised an incredible $226,000! You continue to show up for your communities when they need you most, and your hard work and dedication does not go unnoticed.

The number of children facing food insecurity has doubled since the onset of COVID-19, and the need for help has never been greater. Through the generosity of our customers, kids at more than 1,000 schools will have access to healthy, nutritious breakfasts, which will give them the energy they need to thrive in the upcoming school year.

We are so proud of our Safeway frontline teammates who brought this campaign to life. A heartfelt thank you to the passionate Cashiers for rallying in support of hungry kids in their local communities!

For more than 90 years, Safeway has proudly served the distinct needs of Albertan families in cities across the province. We know that Safeway has strong roots right here at home, and we couldn’t be more excited to continue meaningfully investing in the province.

With that said, we are thrilled to announce a new Safeway location is coming to Edmonton, Alberta – Safeway Jasper! Construction of the new store kicked off March 1, and our teams are hard-at-work preparing for our targeted grand opening in September 2021. Safeway Jasper is a part of our urban market strategy and will encompass a stunning 25,000 square foot concept. You can find Safeway Jasper at Jasper Avenue & 122 Street NW.

Over the coming years, we’ll continue investing in Safeway in Alberta through the remodeling and grand re-opening of many more locations. Stay tuned to Safeway Talks for more updates as we approach these exciting milestones.

 

For almost a year now, our frontline teammates at Safeway have been true champions for your communities. Every day, you come to work with an inspiring passion to serve Alberta families – and our customers have told us loud and clear just how much they appreciate you.

Through this terrible pandemic, we worked through a long, drawn-out labour negotiation process in Alberta. We’re proud that we finally reached a fair and equitable deal for all this past summer. A deal that was overwhelming supported with a 90% ratification rate by our teammates. A deal that will ensure we continue investing meaningfully in Safeway and welcome FreshCo into the right markets for our customers. We’ve invested millions in the Safeway network and we will continue to progress to the promised $200 million dollar mark by 2025.

With all of this tremendous momentum, it is confusing to hear the recent criticisms from Tom Hesse and the Union Leadership who are campaigning against the deal that they negotiated last summer. This type of communication from the Union only leads to confusion and unnecessary anxiety amongst our hardworking teammates.

We can feel it, the spirit of Safeway is back in action. The Safeway brand is back to celebrating its legacy as Alberta’s hometown grocer, who truly supports local communities, suppliers, charitable causes and families. We are so happy to see the entire network thrive as one team.

We want to be very clear with our Safeway teammates. We are completely committed to supporting the Safeway network in Alberta so it can continue to thrive and reclaim its position as Alberta’s number one grocer. We are also completely committed to ensuring we have the right stores, in the right markets and in some cases, that will mean opening FreshCo stores. We have and will continue to treat all of our teammates fairly and respectfully through this process to secure a strong future for all of us.

There is no room for these useless politics in our stores. We need to stay focused on what is most important – our customers, teammates and our communities. This attempt at creating uncertainty and distraction is particularly disappointing.

It’s important to us that you have access to accurate information. If you have any questions or concerns, please get in touch with your HR Business Partner or Store Manager – they’re always there to help.

We are hopeful that UFCW 401 will join us, as they have in the past, to refocus on what counts: supporting our teammates and customers through this terrible pandemic, strengthening Safeway and bringing FreshCo to Alberta.