Trio of Midwest grocery chains adds ‘the power of preparedness’ to employee training

FMI - The Food Industry Association and The Power of Preparedness (TPOP), a Michigan-based online training platform specializing in active shooter preparedness and de-escalation techniques, today announced partnerships with three major U.S. food retail chains: Dierbergs Markets, Heinen’s Grocery Store, and Schnucks Markets. With the introduction of TPOP training, management and employees at these Midwest chains are receiving customized industry-leading eLearning that will enhance their preparedness for potential incidents of workplace violence, including the most serious threat, an active shooter event.

“While mass shooting incidents are on the rise across our country, the recent increase in active shooter events in grocery stores has the entire industry exploring security and risk mitigation training,” said TPOP President and CEO Dan Stechow. “During Covid, food retailers have been on the front line supporting their communities. Unfortunately, they have also experienced a steady increase in workplace violence, some of it deadly. With the help of our partners at FMI, we’re pleased to bring TPOP’s expert online training to these household names in food retail in order to enhance their employee safety and preparedness.”

Leslie Sarasin, president and CEO for FMI, added, “Supermarkets are a critical part of every thriving community. Protecting their employee teams in the face of increasing threats is paramount, and The Power of Preparedness gives them the resources to exercise their muscle memory if they are ever faced with an unimaginable crisis situation. We are pleased to see our members taking advantage of the program and the associated member discount.” 

With nearly 350 years of combined heritage among them, Dierbergs (est. 1854), Heinen’s (est. 1929), and Schnucks (est. 1939), are supermarket stalwarts serving millions of customers across Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, and Wisconsin.

“Every U.S. food retailer is looking for ways to mitigate risk and protect its staff,” said Tim Larouere, Director of Loss Prevention at Dierbergs Markets. “TPOP’s ability to provide us with a customized version for food retail really met our needs.”

“For our organization, TPOP’s customization capabilities for the grocery industry and our organization were the deciding factor in choosing the content,” commented Cliff Gerbick, Safety Manager at Heinen’s Grocery Store. “Having access to relevant learning specific to all our facilities – including our retail stores, warehouses, manufacturing, and main offices – has provided our associates with realistic expectations for how to react to an active shooter situation. Not only that, but our associates have informed us that they appreciate that the content was provided in meaningful ways.”

“At Schnucks, we prioritize safety as we put our customers first, and our team deserves the very best preparedness training available,” said Matthew Redmond, Director of Security. “TPOP’s course helped us support our teammates by addressing the challenges we face in grocery retail through succinct, easily digestible training.”

About The Power of Preparedness

The Power of Preparedness provides comprehensive online employee training for workplace violence. Customized for a growing number of industries – including food retail, food service, utilities, mass gatherings, office facilities, manufacturing, houses of worship, and more – course topics include situational awareness, verbal de-escalation, and active shooter preparedness techniques that mitigate risk by enhancing preparation, recognition, and response against potential threats. For more on TPOP training, visitwww.thepowerofpreparedness.com 

About FMI

As the food industry association, FMI works with and on behalf of the entire industry to advance a safer, healthier and more efficient consumer food supply chain. FMI brings together a wide range of members across the value chain — from retailers that sell to consumers, to producers that supply food and other products, as well as the wide variety of companies providing critical services — to amplify the collective work of the industry. www.FMI.org