The Big CT Food Event 3/1/25

The upcoming Big Connecticut Food Event will take place on Saturday 3/1/25 at the Yale School of Management in New Haven.

The Big Connecticut Food Event is an annual one-day event that gathers CPG/wholesale-focused food & beverage brands and other key stakeholders spanning the Connecticut food entrepreneurship ecosystem to network, share ideas, and showcase products and services.

Our goal is to support the development of the state’s entrepreneurship pipeline so it produces multiple food and beverage brands each year that exceed $2mil in annual sales.

Event content

  • 💰 $50k+ pitch competition for 5 finalist emerging Connecticut brands
  • 🥫 Sampling and tabling from 30+ emerging Connecticut brands and solutions providers
  • 🤝 One-on-one coaching sessions between brands and industry experts
  • 🎤 Panel discussions with industry leaders

Participation opportunities

  • Food & bev brands (based in CT) — Pitch competition, tabling & sampling, expert coaching participant, attendee, sponsor
  • Food & bev brands (based outside CT) — Expert coaching participant, attendee, sponsor
  • Solutions providers to food & bev brands (co-manufacturers, packaging designers, legal and financial service providers, etc.) — Expert coaching coach, sponsor, attendee
  • Grocery and foodservice procurement leaders — Pitch competition judge, panelist, sponsor
  • Not-for-profit organizations (mission-aligned, regionally-based) — Tabling
  • Industry leaders and policymakers — Panelist, pitch competition judge
  • The food-curious public — Attendee

Save the date! The third annual Big Connecticut Food Event is returning on Saturday 3/1/25 at the Yale School of Management in New Haven. Get an attendee ticket here.

More information about this event can be found here.

Affordability and High Energy Costs dominate as CT Legislation Session begins

Less than two weeks before President-elect Donald Trump is set to take office, Connecticut’s General Assembly reconvened for its 2025 legislative session. For nearly five months, the part-time legislature will discuss bills, hear public testimony and vote on legislation in committee and on the House and Senate floor. Lawmakers will also decide on the state’s next two-year budget.

The session began Wednesday with Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont’s State of the State address at the Capitol in Hartford.

The two-term Democratic governor will present lawmakers with a budget proposal in the coming weeks.

“And always, our north stars will be affordability and opportunity, holding down costs of energy and education, allowing you to keep more of what you earn and providing you the tools you need to earn more, to buy a home, start a business,” Lamont said during his address.

Lawmakers must end the regular session business by midnight on June 4.

High cost of power dominates early parts of Lamont’s speech

Affordability and the high cost of electricity in Connecticut dominated the early parts of Lamont’s speech to lawmakers, with the governor saying expensive power impacts everyone from families to small business owners.

“They’re asking me about the reliability and affordability of electricity, as everything we do gets more energy intensive,” Lamont said.

Lamont said the state needs to increase its supplyof low-carbon energy, but Connecticut continues to rely on two major staples for its electircal supply: natural gas and nuclear energy, the latter of which accounts for about one-third of in-state electricity.

Nuclear energy raises concern among environmentalists

Lamont hinted during his speech Wednesday that nuclear power could grow in Connecticut.

“Nuclear power that provides most of our carbon-free power,” he said. “Right now, we’re working with the federal government to find ways to expand nuclear capacity in Connecticut.”

But environmental groups immediately voiced that the state needs to focus more on renewable energy options, not more nuclear power.

“Offshore wind is, was and will continue to be a huge part of getting us to our emissions goals that both the Governor and the legislature and the public have adopted,” Lori Brown, executive director of the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters, said at the Capitol. “And we cannot afford to slide back from that.”

Last month, the state officially opted out of buying into a new offshore wind project with Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Lamont told Connecticut Public’s “The Wheelhouse” in December that the project ended from concern over cost to ratepayers.

Charles Rothenberger, a climate and energy attorney at Save the Sound, also expressed concern about the state depending more on more nuclear energy.

“I don’t believe it is a cheaper alternative to actual clean renewable energy,” Rothenberger said, citing offshore wind and solar as alternatives. “And those are projects that could come online much more quickly to help serve our needs, improving the resilience of the grid and lowering costs for customers.”

State lawmakers decry federal ‘chaos’

Democrats hold an overwhelming majority in both houses of the General Assembly.

During remarks Wednesday, Democratic House Speaker Matt Ritter urged legislators to work in a bipartisan fashion, in contrast to what he said happens in Washington D.C., as well as in many other state governments.

“People get elected and they have new majorities,” Ritter said. “There’s a new majority in D.C.; there’s a new majority here … and the first thing that they plan to do is find ways to eliminate all of the opposition’s power.”

Everyone is frustrated by federal lawmakers who risk chaos, said Vincent Candelora, Connecticut House Republican Minority Leader. He said he watched the recent election of U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson when the election of the speaker was in question.

“It struck me that either party would stand and allow potentially an institution to be put into chaos and jeopardy for political gain,” Candelora said. “And I think time and again we see that on the federal level.”

A ‘cheeky’ touch of CT showmanship

Name-checking Connecticut showman P.T. Barnum during his address, Lamont acknowledged a touch of hyperbole in the state’s recent rollout of road signs declaring Connecticut the “pizza” and “basketball” capital of the world.

Lamont said those signs attracted a lot of attention.

“Some people thought the signs were a little cheeky. Italy questioned our claim to be the pizza capital. The Boston Celtics wondered about the basketball capital,” Lamont joked. “But as a great showman, and Connecticut state representative, P.T. Barnum famously said, ‘I don’t care what they say about me, as long as they spell my name right.’ And they’re talking about Connecticut.”

Lamont says he wants to continue efforts to raise the state’s profile.

Over the holidays, Connecticut leaned into its role as a Hallmark movie backdrop, launching a Christmas Movie Trail to highlight spots from movies filmed in the state.

This session is fundamentally different from last year’s

This session is a “long” one, as outlined by the state’s Constitution. In odd-numbered years, the governor’s office and state lawmakers must agree on a new two-year budget.

That means this year, Lamont must present his proposed state budget and bond package to lawmakers by Feb. 5. That sets off a month-long process to negotiate and finalize, which in the end requires a simple majority in both chambers, where Democrats hold a majority, along with the governor’s signature for approval.

The 2025 session will be nearly two months longer than the “short” session in even-numbered years, when lawmakers usually adjust the budget. Last year, things turned out a little differently when Lamont and other Democratic lawmakers assigned expiring American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars to help programs, rather than formally adjusting the budget.

Expect some debate on state’s fiscal guardrails

These constraints, first enacted in 2017, are a complex set of rules for how much lawmakers can spend. Connecticut has been able to pay down pension debt and has seen state budget surpluses under the guardrails, but there has also been considerable debate among some lawmakers about the need to change these policies. Advocates and lawmakers who want to see the guardrails loosened say they want to see more state money for health care, child care and education.

Lamont said he wanted to keep the guardrails during a December appearance on Connecticut Public’s “The Wheelhouse.” Some Republicans have also echoed a desire to keep the guardrails in place.

Top leaders are the same

Democrats still hold a comfortable majority in both state legislative chambers.

Ritter will return to lead the chamber alongside Majority Leader Jason Rojas. Candelora will return as House Minority Leader. Martin Looney and Bob Duff return as Senate Pro Tem and Majority Leader, respectively. And State Sen. Stephen Harding will return for his second year as Republican Minority Leader.

Bills, bills, bills

Over half a dozen of the nearly 30 committees have new House leaders. Legislative committees drive policy debate among lawmakers and engage the public on specific issues like education, health care and the environment. This year, there is a new committee on government oversight and a select committee on special education.

While many bills are proposed each year by lawmakers, comparatively few become law. That’s because there is a specific process for how most bills become a law, which the Connecticut General Assembly learning center explains. (Think: ”Schoolhouse Rock’s” “I’m Just a Bill” sans music).

There are also a number of different types of bills. Some come out of committees or are introduced by individual lawmakers or groups of lawmakers, or the governor. Among the many topics that will likely come up this session:

Ways to get involved

Committees will hold public hearings, where people can make their voices heard in a few ways. That can be through written testimony on the CGA website – or speaking at the public hearing, Public hearings are also often broadcast online.

There’s also a bill tracking system – that’s not just for reporters and stakeholders! Anyone can sign up to see how a bill is progressing.

Original article found at CT Public Radio.

National Grocers Association Applauds Congressional Action to Protect Grocers and SNAP Participants

Washington, D.C. –  The National Grocers Association (NGA) today applauds members of Congress forsafeguarding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the FY 2025 agriculture appropriations bill by removing a provision that would have led to widespread disruptions and undermined SNAP’s effectiveness.

A proposal dropped from the final bill would have created a five-state pilot to significantly limit the types of foods covered under SNAP, forcing grocers to examine hundreds of thousands of food items to determine which qualify and which don’t. The proposed pilot program would have allowed five state governments to pick winners and losers in the grocery sector, harming the 42 million SNAP participants who have diverse nutritional needs.

“Fortunately, members of Congress realized that a proposal that looked simple on paper would have created confusion for program participants and resulted in a costly bureaucratic nightmare for small businesses around this country,” said Stephanie Johnson, RDN, NGA vice president of government relations. “The strength of SNAP lies in its efficient and flexible design. We are proud to support the continuation of an effective and impactful program for families and local economies.”

The successful amendment, offered by Congressman Sanford Bishop, removed a pilot project that would have restricted SNAP purchases  of “non-nutritious food or beverage items” in five states, a potentially disastrous policy that would have turned grocers into the food police. Members Bishop, DeLauro, Espaillat, and Watson-Coleman spoke in favor of keeping SNAP Choice, the current policy providing participants the freedom to purchase what is right for their families. The amendment passed via voice vote after a robust lobbying effort from NGA.

NGA is also pleased to see that the Senate passed an agriculture appropriations bill without any new restrictions on SNAP purchases.

This victory follows NGA’s commitment to making SNAP choice a key issue during our Fly-In for Fair Competition. Credit also goes to the NGA Grocery Guard, who, at a moment’s notice, reached out to House Appropriators urging support for the amendment.

Original article found at National Grocers Association.

What are the most popular grocery chains in Connecticut?

As Big Y World Class Market pounces on vacant Amazon Fresh storefronts in Westport and Brookfield, new data shows the Massachusetts chain is outclassing many competitors across Connecticut on one major criterion — repeat visits by regulars.

Big Y led Connecticut in December for the average frequency at which individual shoppers returned to stores during the month, according to Placer.ai data on 265 stores statewide reviewed by Hearst Connecticut Media. In 15 of 26 cities and towns where Big Y faces competition from other chains tracked by Placer.ai, Big Y led those markets for the frequency of repeat visitors.

Big Y is now capitalizing in Connecticut with a new store planned for Middletown as well as the Westport and Brookfield locations in the works. It is one of several chains that have been expanding in Connecticut by purchasing stores or opening new ones, to include ShopRiteWhole Foods MarketCaraluzzi’sFood Bazaar and Aldi.

While having closed stores in Bridgeport and Greenwich of late, Stop & Shop remains the dominant chain in Connecticut with more than 85 locations. For December, Placer.ai tracked some 3.25 million people visiting Stop & Shop locations in Connecticut, some doing so from neighboring towns in New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island where they live. In the aggregate across all its Connecticut stores, Stop & Shop drew more than double the number the shoppers at the next two busiest chains in Connecticut in Big Y and ShopRite, which drew about 1.3 million people each.

While Stew Leonard’s stores in Norwalk and Danbury led Connecticut for shoppers in December, ShopRite’s Connecticut Avenue store in Norwalk was tops statewide for total visits, due to customers making more frequent trips there than those at the two Stew Leonard’s. Placer.ai keeps data on Stew Leonard’s Newington store behind a paywall, but a Stew Leonard’s spokesperson told CT Insider that foot traffic at the Newington store is in line the Danbury store.

Shoppers can be fickle and that applies as well to studies that attempt to gauge their loyalty. On the most recent American Customer Satisfaction Index for the grocery industry based on surveys in 2022, Trader Joe’s garnered the top score with Whole Foods Market getting the biggest gain among chains with a footprint in the Northeast. On a quarterly grocery “fidelity” index published by the location-based ad company InMarket that gauges supermarkets’ success in drawing customers to stores, the Wakefern cooperative that includes ShopRite and Price Rite Marketplace got the highest score among Northeast chains, ranking fourth overall nationally.

Placer.ai provides monthly snapshots of foot traffic at larger retail venues nationally by aggregating the locations of mobile phones, for people who bring them inside without disabling location tracking. Placer.ai data is not available free for all venues,  it provides a census of many retail centers frequented by shoppers.

Big Y stores has three of the top four stores in Connecticut for frequency of visits by the same individuals, in Monroe, Ellington and Stafford which led the state on that front. Of the 31 Connecticut supermarkets to average at least two visits by individual shoppers in December, Caraluzzi’s Georgetown Market in Wilton was the only store to crack that group besides Big Y, ShopRite and Stop & Shop.

While Big Y’s Stafford store likely ranks high due to a relatively remote location, the Monroe and Ellington stores are in relative close proximity to competing options. And Big Y leads for shopper repeat visits in several highly competitive areas to include Torrington, where Big Y is tops among a half-dozen stores tracked by Placer.ai, and in Clinton, Groton, Killingly, Newtown, Rocky Hill and Stratford where it bests two or three competitors in each locale.

But the company does not lead every town for frequency of visits, with ShopRite and Stop & Shop topping it in Shelton and Manchester, and both Stop & Shop stores in Milford beating out Big Y for visit frequency.

The Westport foray marks the first in lower Fairfield County for Big Y, where competitors along the Post Road East will include Stop & Shop, Trader Joe’s, The Fresh Market and Balducci’s.

Original article found at CT Insider.

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Grocers Grapple With Theft Issues as Year Begins

If theft and loss were among the big retail stories of 2023, this year is already shaping up to have asset protection top of mind among grocers.

On Jan. 4, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced felony charges in the case of stolen mPerks rewards from Meijer customers. A 22-year-old from Grand Haven, Mich., Nicholas Mui, was arrested for the theft and sale of shoppers’ account access information.

Nessel and her team contend that Mui got login credentials from a separate data breach and subsequently sold logins on the internet. Users used that account information to steal mPerks points for their own purchases. According to the AG’s office, Meijer’s infrastructure was not directly breached.

Meijer tipped off authorities to the potential crime following a series of customer complaints in spring 2023. The retailer’s corporate investigators worked with the Michigan State Policy Fraud group and the AG’s team to discover the culprit; in September, officers acting on an authorized search warrant seized more than $400,000 in cash and cryptocurrency.

A Meijer spokesperson told Progressive Grocer that that the identification and arrest of the suspect was a collaborative effort. In a written statement, the spokesperson declared, “We appreciate the efforts of the Michigan State Police and the Attorney General’s FORCE Team, in partnership with our Asset Protection team, to bring this individual to justice. This situation highlights the importance of changing passwords often and not using the same password for multiple platforms. We encourage any customer who believes they were a victim of this individual’s actions to contact Meijer customer care at 1-877-363-4537.”

Meijer took early action to deal with the effects of the alleged crime, reinstating the full balance of accrued points to affected customers. The incident was not without cost, as Nessel pointed out.

“This theft operation affected hundreds of Meijer customers and mPerks account holders, and cost the grocery chain over one million dollars,” added Nessel. “It is our belief we apprehended the main operative and driver of this sophisticated, wide-spread criminal enterprise, and I’m grateful for the partnership between my FORCE Team, the Michigan State Police, and Meijer,” she said.

In related news, credit card skimmers are also causing headaches for retailers around the country as 2024 unfolds. Recently, skimmers were found at self-checkout areas at Roche Bros. Supermarkets locations in the Boston area, including a Sudbury Farms in Needham, a Brothers Marketplace in Weston and two Roche Bros. stores in Wellesley and Natick.

This week, police in Germantown, Wis., announced that a skimming device was found at a Sendik’s store in that town near Milwaukee. Additionally, Giant Eagle confirmed that skimmers were discovered at a store in Powell, Ohio. After a thorough review, additional devices were found at four other Giant Eagle locations in Ohio.

In a news release, Giant Eagle clarified some of the security issues. “Because most customers either insert or tap their chipped cards, the vast majority of customers visiting these stores are not affected. Importantly, the only information at risk includes the payment card number and service codes,” a spokesperson wrote. Still, the grocer advised customers who patronized the stores to monitor their accounts.

Privately owned Meijer is based in Grand Rapids, Mich., and is No. 23 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. PG also named the company one of its Top 10 Most Sustainable Grocers and Best Regional Grocery Chains in America. Mansfield, Mass.-based Roche Bros. operates 20 locations in the state. Established by the Balistreri family in 1926, Sendik’s operates 19 stores in the Milwaukee metro area, including Sendik’s Food Markets and convenience-oriented Fresh2 Go banners. Giant Eagle operates approximately 480 stores throughout western Pennsylvania, north central Ohio, northern West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana. The company is No. 40 on The PG 100.

Original article found at Progressive Grocer.

After decades of failure, Hartford leaders seek grocery store in one of CT’s worst food deserts

After several failed attempts, a new push to explore a city-owned grocery store aims to someday bring fresh produce to a food desert in Hartford.

“Getting a full-service grocery store in the North End has been a challenge for literally our whole lives,” councilman Josh Michtom said. “I think it’s a very common sense idea to at least study its feasibility and get some parameters around it.”

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