What it looks like to drive community engagement via grocery

Charlotte, N.C.-based Compare Foods has built a reputation as a community-minded operator specializing in a quality fresh foods assortment and authentic Latin American products.

Omar Jorge, the second-generation grocer whose family had operated multiple stores in New York City before expanding into North Carolina in 2004, took over the North Carolina operations in 2009. He is currently the owner, chairman, president, and CEO of the company.

“The move to North Carolina has been really successful,” he said. “The community has really accepted us with open arms.”

That the community has embraced Compare Foods is no accident. Under Jorge’s leadership, Compare Foods has been involved in a wide range of community activities, such as health screenings, hunger relief efforts, and support for local schools. The company’s community ties are strengthened by its sponsorship of local sports, including Charlotte’s professional soccer team.

Jorge said the company’s charitable mission can be traced back to his grandparents.

“They had a thing where everyone was always welcome and no one would ever go hungry,” he said. “We really take to heart that part of our mission is helping people less fortunate.”

Among the company’s health initiatives, Compare Foods works with local hospitals to host free mammogram, cholesterol, and diabetes screenings in its parking lots. During the COVID pandemic, Compare Foods also was very active in supporting testing and vaccinations in much the same way. Even though Compare does not have in-store pharmacies, the company was the No. 2 destination for vaccines in the Charlotte market, ranking only behind the Bojangles Coliseum, which was heavily promoted as a destination for vaccines.

Through its partnership with StarMed Healthcare, the retailer hosted clinics that were responsible for administering 8,560 vaccines in 2021 and 3,234 in 2022. Through the Remarkable YOU program in partnership with Novant Health, Compare Foods has provided 227 free health screenings, plus nine mobile health clinics, and two childhood immunization events.

“It has turned into a really good relationship that I think has benefited the community significantly,” said Jorge.

Scholarship donations have included $5,000 in each of the past three years to Latin Americans Working for Achievement and the Charlotte Youth Coalition, through Marand Builders. Compare Foods also donated 700-plus backpacks to students in 2022 and 900-plus in 2023 and donated $5,000 in each of the last two years through Classroom Central, in addition to providing volunteers and the use of its trucks.

The main draw for customers choosing to shop at Compare Foods is not the free health screenings, however, but the food. The retailer focuses in particular on attracting customers of Mexican, Caribbean, and South American descent, but it ends up bringing in a wide diversity of customers of all ethnicities, Jorge said.

“What always happens is that consumers who are not the main target of our stores fall in love with what we offer, and they start shopping with us,” he said.

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This feature is part of our 2024 “SN Independent Superstars” list: see more superstars here.