Steve Weinstein, a longtime editor of Supermarket News and a pioneering advocate for industry-led hunger-relief programs, passed away Aug. 3 in Princeton, N.J., his family said. He was 86.
A passionate journalist and graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, Weinstein parlayed his writing and typing skills into a desk job in the army in Germany during the Korean War.
Though his family said he desired to be a foreign correspondent for the New York Times, Weinstein found a home in business journalism with Fairchild Publications, the former parent of SN. He also worked for Fairchild publications Women's Wear Daily and Footwear News and later worked as an editor at Progressive Grocer. Weinstein was SN's editor from 1972 to 1986, penning the "One Man's View" column weekly.
Through his work at SN and the professional relationships he established with the presidents and CEOs of numerous food industry corporations, in 1985 Weinstein was invited to help establish FICAH (Food Industry Crusade Against Hunger), a food-industry NGO focused on fostering self-help, sustainable solutions to ending hunger around the world. Already passionate travelers who spent their lives wandering the world — including being among the first foreigners to travel to China and Vietnam after they opened their doors, who climbed over the Himalayas into Tibet and Ladakh from India where they went often, arrived with their children in Kenya on the day that Tom Mboya was assassinated and proceeded to drive through East Africa, and went to Afghanistan during a brief window of calm — Weinstein and his wife Marcia also traveled for FICAH to numerous locations in Africa, Asia, Central and South America, and New Guinea, to check on sponsored projects.
Not only was Weinstein a well-respected journalist, but he also wrote poetry filled with love, respect, and humor. He could always be counted on to write a personal poem for special occasions for friends and family. And for every one of 64 years, he wrote a poem of love and enduring devotion to his wife, Marcia, on her birthday and on their anniversary. Most recently, Weinstein published a book, “She Made Me Do It,” about the many travel experiences he and Marcia shared.
Despite suffering from a rare and little-known auto-immune disorder for 20 years, Weinstein continued to live his life to the fullest, travel, play golf, discover a love of opera, and enjoy the pleasures of the North Fork of Long Island and New York City. During this time, he and Marcia also made a new life for themselves on the North Fork in an octagonal house in the woods on a bluff overlooking Long Island Sound, where they joined the North Fork Community Synagogue and made wonderful new friends.
He is survived by his wife of nearly 65 years, Marcia Weinstein (nee Siskind), his children Julie, Joel, and Kim Weinstein, and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
The family has chosen not to have a funeral; a memorial service will be scheduled within a few months. Donations in his name may be sent to the Southern Poverty Law Center or Heifer Foundation.
