GOOD NEIGHBORS

DON YAEGER

Supermarkets for years have been committed to community relations but now requests from those communities are accelerating. From Food Banks to Boy Scouts, organizations increasingly are seeking help.

The pickup in activity is spurred partly by the trimming of government welfare rolls and partly by cutbacks in assistance from large corporations, supermarket executives said. The result is that supermarkets are under more pressure to make decisions about how to allocate their resources.

Community organizations naturally gravitate to supermarkets, which are traditionally considered good neighbors and information clearinghouses for community activities. Solicitations increase as "the word gets around that you are community-minded," said Mary Moore, director of public affairs for D'Agostino Supermarkets, Larchmont, N.Y. Welfare-program reductions are putting pressure on a number of agencies, especially those involved in food drives, noted Moore and others contacted by SN.

She said that there has been an "enormous increase" in charitable requests directed to the 25-store chain, which last year responded favorably to 463 cases. Another 100 were declined because the petitioners were not located in the firm's market area.

Corporate downsizing and relocation of headquarters also hurt local non-profits since there is often less money to go around, said Pat Nowak, director of public relations and consumer affairs at Seaway Food Town, Maumee, Ohio.

Requests for assistance at this 70-store chain are running as much as 30% higher than last year. Seaway, a big backer of arts and parades, has, according to Nowak, three main criteria in dispensing support: the number of people to be served; overall good to the community; and how it will benefit the company.

"In other words, is this going to further our name as part of community involvement?" she said.

Nowak and others agreed that results from these activities are intangible at best. But the concept, especially as a competitive factor, is very important.

"Even if it's just hamburger for a cookout, we help out whenever we can," said Barbara Levan, consumer affairs supervisor at Martin's Super Markets, South Bend, Ind.

"It sets us apart from the competition. It is very important to keep that niche."

Competition in South Bend includes Meijer Inc. and Kroger Co. A Wal-Mart Supercenter is due in the fall.

"Awareness surveys show that people are very aware of us doing these things," said Joanne Gage, vice president of consumer and marketing services at Price Chopper Supermarkets, Schenectady, N.Y., a company that sponsors big community bashes. "We hope that we get a contribution to sales."

Farm Fresh, a 42-store chain based at Norfolk, Va., which focuses on aid to a children's hospital, also fared well in an awareness poll, according to Susan Mayo, vice president of consumer relations and public relations.

Consumers, when asked by a TV station, "What companies are most involved in the community?" chose Farm Fresh second only to a Fortune 500 company. "We do it because it's the right thing to do," said Mickey Clerc, director of public relations at Winn-Dixie Stores, Jacksonville, Fla.

"It's part of the business. You become involved with customers. You have to be interested in what they want."

Like so many companies, Winn-Dixie is primarily interested in health, education and youth programs, Clerc said. Typical is the firm's involvement with the American Cancer Society in the building of Winn-Dixie Hope Lodges -- facilities to house cancer outpatients and their families while the patient is undergoing treatment at an area hospital.

The company has made $1 million contributions each to lodges in Gainesville and Miami, Fla. -- and is spending another $1 million for a facility being built in Atlanta. Winn-Dixie also stages celebrity bagging events -- with a portion of the receipts for that day earmarked for upkeep of one of the lodges.

Farm Fresh also focuses on health care contributions. Its charity of choice is a children's hospital to which the company contributes more than $125,000 a year. Additionally, Farm Fresh employees staff phone lines for a money-raising telethon for the institution. At other intervals the stores and hospital are partners in nutrition-education programs.

D'Agostino Supermarkets emphasizes health-related activities in its major promotions. For the past three years, the company has sponsored swimming programs with the New York Parks and Recreation Department. Free swimming lessons are offered adults and kids of various ages. The company also backs a Juvenile Diabetes Walk-A-Thon, with contributions and an employee team for the walk.

Food banks currently are important projects for a number of retailers.

Pat Nowak of Seaway Food Town said that the need gets greater every year. Her company donates more than 1 million pounds of food each year to the Northwest Ohio Food Bank. In addition, stores are used as collection points for Scout food drives -- and the company underwrites the cost of bags for door-to-door Scout drives.

Through a "round-up" campaign, D'Agostino Supermarkets has raised a total of $971,000 in 10 years -- with that money earmarked for New York's Citymeals-on-Wheels program. Customers are asked to "round up" their purchases to the nearest dime or dollar. The amount is tracked on registers -- and later distributed to the charity.

In Alaska, elimination of hunger is a top priority of Carr Gottstein Foods, said Jeff Philipps, senior vice president. Perishables with some shelf life -- and produce in particular -- are donated to food groups that come to stores to pick up the merchandise.

The Anchorage-based chain of 45 stores also runs a Swipe Away Hunger promotion in the fall in which customers can "swipe" a coupon at checkout that adds $2 to the grocery transaction. The added money is turned over to food charities.

Carr Gottstein also uses the round-up technique to assist local Boys & Girls Clubs. In a campaign that was launched in April for funds to build a new club house, cashiers were asking customers if they would like to round up to the nearest dollar "for kids."

Philipps said that the company is always "looking for new ways to get involved." He said that requests for assistance are running about 15% higher this year.

Wakefern Food Corp., Elizabeth, N.J., recently was honored for 15 years of work with

Community Food of New Jersey. In addition to donating food and money, the wholesaler provides sorters and a number of professional services including a quality-assurance team, trucks and drivers.

Martin's of South Bend faces another poverty issue -- heating bills. The company began collecting donations for its Heat for Homes program in 1989. Since that time, the program has resulted in $650,000 in assistance to area families faced with the inability to pay their heating bills. The drive begins in November each year and runs through February.

Red canisters are placed at checkouts. The company matches gifts from customers and employees -- and Northern Indiana Public Service Co. then matches the entire donation.

Schools also are the forte of Martin's. In Heads, Hearts and Health, Martin's gives $500 to schools for every $100,000 in register receipts collected. In the current school year, $170,000 was distributed to 170 schools. Another program, Martin's Scrip, was developed to offer schools gift certificates at a 5% discount.

The schools then sell the certificates at face value. The program has grown "tremendously" in recent years, said Barbara Levan. Thirty-five school organizations are involved in Martin's Scrip now, compared with three a few years ago. Each Martin's store has a manager or department head who doubles as a consumer affairs representative. Among other things, the person is responsible for contacts with area schools to learn how the company can get more involved.

Piggly Wiggly Carolina Co., Charleston Heights, S.C., is another company with a propensity for gift certificates. Rita Postell, manager of community relations, said that they are good for business because they get people into the store.

In most instances, store managers are authorized to make handouts up to a certain limit -- usually $25. Requests range from cup cakes to door prizes.

Most store managers also have a budget for this purpose.

Some companies put on splashy productions that take the form of community boosters involving thousands of people. For example, for nearly 25 years Price Chopper has staged a mammoth fireworks display in Albany, N.Y., on the Fourth of July.

The company has a full-time promotions and special-events manager who plans the event and engages big name entertainment. The fireworks are choreographed to music. Promoted with window signs, the Web site, newspaper, radio and TV, the event draws 80,000 people.

Price Chopper also plans and sponsors a free Mother's Day concert each year at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center -- which draws as many as 15,000 people.

K-VA-T Food Stores, Grundy, Va., which has a corporate philosophy of participating in community events whenever possible, is a booster of National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, said to be the largest spectator sport in the country -- and especially popular in the Southeast.

The company sponsors one of the cars -- and also two Food City races -- one in the fall and one in spring, according to Terry Van Huss, consumer affairs director. The events are preceded by a Race Night during which 25,000 persons come to a convention center for entertainment -- and for the opportunity to have drivers autograph pictures of race cars.

Van Huss said that the event, which started in a store parking lot 10 years ago, has become an area tradition.

A different kind of race -- with 30,000 participants -- is the Cooper River Bridge Run in Charleston, S.C. Piggly Wiggly Carolina gets good exposure by providing bagels and cream cheese to participants picking up their packets. Later, the company distributes bananas, oranges and apples to the runners. Seaway Food Town gets a lot of recognition from its sponsorship of holiday parades, said Pat Nowak. The company gives money, enters floats, and provides volunteers for Christmas parades in some of the cities where it operates -- including the Food Town Holiday Parade in Toledo.

In Virginia, Farm Fresh and General Mills are partnering Farm Fresh Charity night at a Triple A baseball game. In order to be eligible for a free ticket, fans need to purchase four General Mills products at Farm Fresh stores. For every home run hit, General Mills is sending a $500 donation to a children's hospital. Susan Mayo predicts more of these retailer-manufacturer partnerships in the future. Piggly Wiggly Carolina donates to the arts a major percentage of a $500,000 community relations budget, said Postell. Convinced that communities need a strong arts presence, the company contributes to such organizations as the Charleston Symphony and the Charleston Garden Festival, Postell noted.

The company also provided a substantial interest-free loan to create the South Carolina Artisans Center.

Winn-Dixie has a history of responding to virtually all disasters in its territory -- a region fraught with tornadoes, hurricanes and floods. As recently as February, the company donated $50,000 to the Red Cross for central Florida tornado relief. In addition, a tractor trailer load of water was given free to residents of the most damaged area.

Hurricane Andrew relief efforts in 1992 included distribution of more than a quarter-million gallons of bottled water, 300,000 pounds of ice and truckloads of food to stricken areas. A $1.25 million donation was made to the Red Cross.

Companies often try for maximum employee involvement in charitable projects. Piggly Wiggly's Postell said that the firm provides employees with free tickets and T-shirts to a number of events sponsored by the company.