Category: British Columbia

Help us celebrate the second annual checkstand campaign for the A Family of Support: Child and Youth Mental Health Initiative

Posted on by Daniela Travierso

At Safeway, we’re driven by our purpose of being a family nurturing families and we’re excited to bring this to life with a very special campaign in our stores.

In partnership with the Sobey Foundation and Canada’s Children’s Hospital Foundations (CCHF), we’re proud to kick off the second annual checkstand campaign in support of the A Family of Support: Child & Youth Mental Health Initiative. Our goal is to come together with our teammates, partners and customers to continue advocating for children and youth with mental health challenges.

About the campaign

From September 16 – 30, Canadians from coast-to-coast will have the opportunity to donate $2.00 (or more!) when checking out at Safeway and any Sobeys Inc. banner stores.

100 per cent of the funds raised will be donated to support the A Family of Support initiative and are directed through 15 regional programs across 13 children’s hospitals in Canada. This means that the funds raised in each community, stay in the community, and support children and youth close to home. The donation proceeds will play an important role in helping each hospital implement specialized mental health programs for their children and youth.

A huge thank you to our frontline teammates who are essential to bringing this important cause to life in our stores. By inviting customers to support their local children’s hospital, our cashiers are truly our checkstand champions and we couldn’t do it without them!

Last year’s checkstand campaign was a huge success, raising over 2 million in stores, and we can’t wait to build on this for 2021! Thank you for your continued support and for your ongoing commitment to help create healthier tomorrows for more kids and families in your community!

Resources

  • Learn more about our family of support at afamilyofsupport.com.
  • Your wellbeing, and the wellbeing of your family, is so important to us. Visit sobeysmentalwellbeing.com for more information to support your mental wellbeing and wellness needs.

Three new FreshCo locations in Alberta announced

Posted on by Sudhanshu Rewari

As part of Sobeys Inc.’s plan to win market share and grow our business in Western Canada, we are announcing three new FreshCo locations in Alberta.

Closing for renovation August 28, 2021 and re-opening as FreshCo in Winter 2021/2022

  • Safeway Downtown Fort McMurray, Fort McMurray, AB

Closing for renovation October 2, 2021 and re-opening as FreshCo in Spring 2022

  • Safeway Jasper Gates, Edmonton, AB
  • Sobeys Lewis Estates, Edmonton, AB

The Pharmacy Departments will remain open during the remodel and banner conversion and the fuel station in Fort McMurray will convert to a Fast Fuel and the kiosk to a Needs. The location will remain open and continue to operate during the construction process to ensure there is no disruption in service.

Our full-service grocery stores are an important 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 the respective unions in the coming weeks 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.

British Columbia Safeway Teammates raise $177,000 for Toonies for Tummies

Posted on by Sudhanshu Rewari

From February 11-25, 2021, Safeway stores across British Columbia 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 British Columbia raised an incredible $177,000! 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!

British Columbia Safeway teammates raise over $480,000 for local food banks!

Posted on by Sudhanshu Rewari

Despite the challenges that our Safeway teammates faced in 2020, they never missed an opportunity to show up when their communities needed them most.

When our Safeway teammates learned that the pandemic had only heightened the need for food donations in communities across British Columbia, they truly stepped up to the challenge and championed our holiday checkstand campaign like never before. This past holiday season, our Safeway teammates put in tremendous effort to support local food banks through at-the-register cash donations and the sale of pre-packaged food hampers containing the most needed items.

Through determination, hard work, and an immeasurable commitment to their local communities, our British Columbia Safeway teammates managed to raise $111,760 in food hamper sales and $371,220 in cash donations for a total of more than $482,980! Such an absolutely incredible achievement!

A huge thank you goes out to every single teammate for continuing to show up everyday and put your local communities first throughout these challenging times. Your true Safeway spirit inspires us everyday!

A day to remember our Canadian Heroes

Posted on by Sudhanshu Rewari

Team,

Today is an important day for Canadians across the country, and a particularly significant day for us as a team with such deep Canadian roots.

On November 11, we pay respect to our Canadian Heroes, both past and present, who have fought for our country. While their courage and heart inspire us every day, I encourage you to take a moment today to pause and reflect on the bravery of those who have served – and continue to serve – Canada during times of conflict.

Let us never forget the men and women who have sacrificed for our country, and let us continue to honour our Canadian heroes who defend our values and freedoms today.

We thank our Safeway teammates who have served or are still serving our country, and those with friends and family that may still be doing so. We will wear our poppies with pride today to honour you.

We will read the following script over the PA system in our stores at 11:00 am this morning to observe a moment of silence:

“Good morning shoppers.  As we all stand here in peace and safety, we pay our respects to all of the fallen, all of the wounded and all who served in conflict for more than 100 years. Today, we remember those who volunteered, sacrificed, served, fought, and died, for our freedom. We thank you, and salute those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. We will never forget. We will remember you.

Today and always, #CanadaRemembers.

 

Kind regards,

Ralf Mundel

Vice President, Operations – British Columbia

B.C. Safeway teammates join forces to donate more than $20,000 to the Heart & Stroke Foundation

Posted on by Sudhanshu Rewari

Giving back to the communities we proudly serve has always been integral to who we are at Safeway. It’s no secret just how invested our teammates are in their communities across B.C. Whether through the donation of time, effort or money, our teammates take pride in supporting their neighbours and the organizations that truly touch B.C. families.

 

Over at least the last decade, our Safeway teammates have proudly joined forces to participate in the Safeway payroll donation program. By volunteering a few dollars from each paycheque, our teammates use their collective power to truly make a significant impact on causes close to home. One of the causes most important to our teammates is the Heart & Stroke Foundation.

 

The Heart & Stroke Foundation has been dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke for over 60 years. Their work has saved thousands of lives and improved the lives of millions. Through their foundation, they’ve become a leading funder of live-saving research, providing education to millions of Canadians about the risks of heart disease and stroke, and continue to empower Canadians to live healthier lives.

 

In 2019 alone, our Safeway B.C. teammates donated more than $24,300 to the Heart & Stroke Foundation through the payroll donation program. This donation means that more Western Canadians impacted by heart disease and stoke will have better access to the resources they need most – particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. This also means that the Heart & Stroke Foundation can continue to deliver critical resuscitation training both during the pandemic and beyond.

 

This funding also helps 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.

 

Click here to watch a special thank you video dedicated to our Safeway teammates from the Heart & Stroke Foundation. Every day, you go above and beyond to not only create exceptional customer experiences in our stores, but to meaningfully invest in our communities. While each payroll donation may seem small, your combined efforts truly prove just how much we’re capable of when we work together. Way to go, team!

B.C. Safeway Teammates raise over $217,000 for mental health programs at B.C’s Children’s Hospital

Posted on by Sudhanshu Rewari

There is no question that Safeway teammates are dedicated members of the community who step up when their neighbours need help. Throughout our first in-store checkstand fundraising campaign in support of A Family of Support: Child and Youth Mental Health Initiative, you again stepped up to support Canadian families and encouraged our customers to donate to the cause.

100 per cent of the funds raised during the campaign are directed to the priority mental health programs at the local children’s hospital in that community. That’s part of what makes this initiative so unique – your collective national effort will have tangible local impact.

Together, teammates and customers across the country raised an incredible $2.2M in support of Canadian kids and their families.

B.C. Division Stores raised over $370,608 in support of the mental health programs at B.C’s Children’s Hospital Foundation, of which Safeway teammates helped to raise $217,732.

B.C.’s Children’s Hospital Foundation – Supporting Mental Health Care for Kids through Education

BC Children’s Hospital will work to develop and deliver a wide-reaching mental health education strategy to help address gaps in mental health services in British Columbia. This strategy will support the education and training of hospital and community healthcare providers and educators across the province, strengthening capacity and helping to ensure that children and youth receive the timely mental health support they need.


About the Initiative
Launched on August 26, 2020, the A Family of Support: Child and Youth Mental Health initiative addresses the critical need for early interventions in child and youth mental health. This groundbreaking long-term partnership between Canada’s Children’s Hospital Foundation, the Sobey Foundation and Sobeys Inc. have committed to donating and raising millions of dollars to enhance resources for 13 children’s hospitals across Canada.

Fill your prescription in our pharmacies and save more!

Posted on by Sudhanshu Rewari

With cough, cold and flu season right around the corner, it’s time to start thinking of the best and most cost-effective way to get the healthcare products and services for you and your family.

Fill your prescriptions in our pharmacies and save more!
Safeway provides industry-leading benefits to our teammates. By visiting our banner stores for your healthcare needs, you can take advantage of our competitive prices –and in many cases, higher percentages of reimbursement depending on the benefit plan in which you participate.  

And while you’re getting your prescription filled, pick up your groceries and take advantage of our upcoming Employee Discount to be announced soon. It’s a one-stop shop for all your savings!

Not an existing patient at our pharmacies? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Transferring your prescriptions is easy! Just call any of our pharmacy teams and we will get it done for you.

A variety of healthcare services
From blood pressure screening to baby wellness, to flu vaccines, and more, our pharmacy team is committed to providing personalized care and quality service. We also offer patient education programs and work closely with in-store Dietitians (where available) to help patients achieve their health goals.

We’re always ready to help you with your healthcare needs, including:

  • Automatic prescription refills
  • Custom pill packaging (to easily remember what to take and when)
  • Private consultations and medication reviews
  • Easy prescription transfers1
  • Prescription renewals and other prescribing services1
  • Home delivery if you are unable to come into the store
  • All with your wellness and privacy in mind2

Start shopping in your pharmacies and save more!  To find your convenient pharmacy banner location and to learn more about our services, visit www.pharmacynearestyou.ca.

1Prescribing and prescription transfer services are subject to provincial regulations.
2All pharmacies are required by law to protect personal and health information.

An update on our Appendix B transition: Two additional Safeway stores announced

Posted on by Sudhanshu Rewari

A few weeks ago, we shared that eight additional Safeway stores in British Columbia were returning to Appendix A.

Today, we’re announcing the transition of two additional Safeway stores back to Appendix A. These stores are:

  • Store 4916 – Safeway Fortune Kamloops
  • Store 4908 – Safeway Robson

The terms of this transition only impact the UFCW 1518 bargaining unit in these stores.

In total, 13 stores have transitioned back to Appendix A. All new transitioning stores will continue to do so under conditions, agreed upon by both the Union and the Company, that will support the stores in effectively competing within their markets.

It’s important to us that you stay informed on the decisions that impact you, your family and your store. As always, we’re committed to keeping you up-to-date with timely and transparent updates. Stay tuned to Safeway Talks for additional information as it becomes available, but in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your Store Manager with any questions.

Thank you for everything you do to serve our B.C. communities – we’re so proud to be on your team.

Keeping you informed: Our next steps with B.C. Safeway Appendix B Stores

Posted on by Sudhanshu Rewari

At Safeway, regular communication with our teammates has always been incredibly important to us. You are the experts in our stores – you are dedicated, hard working, and caring. You take great pride in serving our B.C. families and giving back to our communities. Your voice is important.

In December 2018, the Special Officer’s Award was issued which resulted in many stores being classified as Appendix B stores. Now, just over two years later, we have met with UFCW 1518 to discuss bringing some of those stores into Appendix A. In March of this year, we agreed to moving three stores back into Appendix A under conditions that would help the stores effectively compete in their markets.

Now, we are prepared to announce the return of eight more stores to Appendix A as follows:

Store #126 / 4946 – Terrace

Store # 93 / 4936 – Shaughnessy

Store #44 / 4913 – Kensington

Store #42 / 4911 – Burnaby Heights

Store #38 / 4909 – Caufield

Store #58 / 4917 – McBride

Store #2271 / 4974 – Cranbrook

Store 170 / 4960 – Downtown Kelowna

 

These changes apply to the UFCW 1518 bargaining unit in the above-mentioned stores only.

We will keep you updated on Safeway Talks as more information becomes available.