ALBERTSON'S HONORED

BARBARA MURRAY

NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- Albertson's, Boise, Idaho, is the first supermarket company to receive the National Community Development Award presented by the Orthodox Union, the largest certifying agency of kosher food. Rabbi Mark Cohn, executive director of the Southern Region of the Orthodox Union, based here, said the award was accepted by Gary Michael, chairman and chief executive officer, Oct. 26 at a dinner at the Miami Intercontinental Hotel.

"Albertson's took those parts of the store in certain communities -- such as San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, Jacksonville, and now Boca Raton -- they took the bakery, the freshly cut meat section and deli and made them kosher. It brought it to a different level," Cohn said, because now the kosher consumers don't have to go to so many different stores. He also said the OU set up purchasing meetings with kosher-grocery manufacturers and Albertson's. "Albertson's was recognized first because they did it on a very large scale," Cohn told SN. "Kroger is working on it and we are very cognizant of what they and Wal-Mart are doing," he added.