News

How Grocers Can Add Composting to Their Sustainability Initiatives

When it comes to sustainability objectives, consumers want grocers to walkthe walk as well as talk the talk. By that standard, Cingari Family ShopRite has certainly been successful, particularly in relation to its composting activities. Progressive Grocer recently caught up with Dominick Cingari, VP and supervisor of pharmacy, nonfoods, and health and beauty at the Connecticut-based family-owned company, to find out how the independent retailer became involved in recycling organic matter like food into fertilizer.

Although the company has been physically composting for more than a decade, having launched its initiative in this area back in 2012 for Earth Day, it became involved with Southington, Conn.-based food waste hauling business Quantum Biopower and Hartford, Conn.-based Blue Earth Compost just a few years ago.

“Blue Earth Compost provides Cingari Family ShopRite with bins to transport waste to their vendor, Quantum Biopower,” explains Cingari. “Blue Earth then picks up the waste from our stores. It initially started with just one of our stores during the pandemic, and then eventually expanded to all 12 locations.”

Innovation Makes the Difference

When asked what makes its current composting collaboration different, Cingari replies: “By using automated technology, Quantum can take our packaged food waste. This hasn’t been possible for us in the past with traditional composting and diversion. For example, in the past, nonsaleable shredded cheese would be opened and we would throw away the plastic bag, and then put the cheese to be composted. Now, with Quantum Biopower’s technology, they turn the plastic and the food waste into a compost slurry and force it through small screens that separate the plastic or metal from what is compostable so that they can recycle those materials and extract the food waste.”

What’s more, Quantum, whose digester uses an anaerobic process to rapidly break down food waste and turn it into nutrient-rich compost, also captures the methane gas that’s naturally released during the composting process, and the gas is then converted to energy to power Southington homes and businesses. “This differs from other composting methods that release methane/greenhouse gases into the atmosphere,” points out Cingari.

As for how the partnership has developed, he observes: “What Cingari Family ShopRite [was] sending to compost [jumped] to about 30% more material to be composted as we [added] new stores to our partnership with Blue Earth and Quantum. That’s 30% less going into the landfills.”

Spreading the Word

In addition to doing good work in composting, the company makes sure that its shoppers and employees are kept in the loop.

“We have signage in our stores by checkout to let the customers know that Cingari Family ShopRite donates wholesome but unsaleable products to local food banks, and that we compost and recycle,” says Cingari. “I also like to set goals for the stores. By keeping track of the weight for each store’s waste and compost, we can share the percentage of what does not go into landfills and display it on signs throughout the stores.”

The grocer shares such reports with its employees on a weekly basis. “When store A sees that they’re getting beat by store B, it turns into a contest of sorts to see who can succeed the most,” notes Cingari.

The success that Cingari Family ShopRite has already seen with Blue Earth and Quantum is on course to continue. “We’re also expanding our floral department, and all of the old floral dirt and broken bags of mulch will now go to Quantum Biopower, along with anything else that’s biodegradable,” says Cingari, who sums up the company’s dedication to composting and other sustainability initiatives simply: “Doing the right thing is what’s important.”

Original article found at Progressive Grocer.

January 25, 2023 in Member News

You can buy a joint in Connecticut, but not Chardonnay at Stop & Shop

I had a nice chat this week with Jean Cronin, executive director of the Connecticut Package Store Association, which is bracing for a huge legislative battle this year over allowing wine sales in grocery stores.

“It will be quite a fight, and we are looking forward to it,” the pleasant Cronin told me, as she outlined some of the arguments she plans to deploy on behalf of the 1,200 package store owners in the state.

I have no doubt Cronin will muster a formidable lobbying effort to block efforts by the Connecticut Food Association to convince Connecticut lawmakers this year to allow wine sales in grocery stores.

I must say, though, that I find her arguments to protect the traditional fiefdoms of wine sellers, which in eastern Connecticut includes a single, enormous conglomerate, fall pretty flat.

After all, you can now legally buy marijuana in Connecticut, legalization that had strong but not overwhelming public support. The food sellers will tell you that, on the other hand, the public supports wine sales in grocery stores in huge numbers.

You can expect to see a lot of that polling soon, as the legislative battle unfolds in Hartford. There are already 42 states that allow grocery stores to sell wine.

The package stores suggest that they can better safeguard the public from inappropriate liquor sales, to minors for instance.

If I were a lawmaker, I would demand to see some statistics on that.

Grocery store clerks assiduously check my ID for beer sales, and I am obviously old and withered and have been buying liquor legally almost since Nixon was president. I would not be surprised if an analysis showed more beer sale violations by package stores than grocery stores.

Cronin told me lawmakers need to protect package store jobs.

Well, I think a lot of us grew to love grocery store employees who braved COVID-19 exposure and kept us fed during the pandemic. And I for one would certainly like to protect their jobs.

Cronin also said consumers will lose wine choices if the grocery stores are allowed into the business, because liquor stores, which may feature more specialty wine varietals, will have less revenue and be able to invest less money in inventory.

I’d say that if a consumer demand exists for those special varieties of wines, someone will stock and sell them in a robust free enterprise system.

And, really, that is what this fight will be about: economic protectionism for a particular class of business or free and open competition in the marketplace.

It’s hard to see how Connecticut lawmakers are going to be able to side with the protected, entrenched liquor store owners against the notion of free enterprise, especially when most state voters don’t understand why they can’t buy a bottle of Chardonnay from a grocery store that wants to sell it to them.

The last time liquor store owners went to major battle stations it was to protect the ban on Sunday liquor sales.

We all know how that one turned out. And I suspect and hope this one goes the same way.

Original article can be found at The Day.

January 11, 2023 in CFA News

Connecticut’s New Truck Tax: What You Need to Know

Beginning Jan. 1 2023, Connecticut will impose a new per-mile truck tax on Class 8 through Class 13 motor vehicles.

The Department of Revenue Services recently issued guidance for the highway user fee, enacted by the legislature in 2021, to assist trucking companies with compliance.

According to the nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis, the tax is expected to raise $45 million in fiscal 2023 and $90 million the following year, with revenues directed to the Special Transportation Fund.

Under Connecticut General Statute 12-493a, eligible motor vehicles subject to the tax have (1) a gross weight of 26,000 pounds or more, and (2) a classification between Class 8 and Class 13 under the Federal Highway Administration classification system.

Exempt motor vehicles include those carrying or transporting milk or dairy products to or from a dairy farm that holds a license to ship milk.

The tax is calculated according to the eligible motor vehicle’s weight and the number of miles driven in Connecticut.

Fee Schedule

The fee schedule increases based on the vehicle’s gross weight, ranging from 2.5 cents per mile for vehicles weighing 26,000 to 28,000 pounds to 17.5 cents per mile for vehicles exceeding 80,000 pounds.

The tax is reportable on a month-by-month basis beginning Jan. 1, 2023, with the first HUF tax return due on or before Feb. 28, 2023.

The reporting deadline for each month will be the last day of the following month.

Connecticut truck tax fee schedule

Source: Connecticut Department of Revenue Services.

According to DRS, carriers that operate an eligible motor vehicle will be subject to the HUF and must register with the agency by Jan. 1, 2023.

To register, carriers must complete and submit an online application to DRS.

Once DRS accepts the carrier’s application, the carrier will receive one permit and is required to place a copy of the permit in each eligible vehicle that operates in Connecticut.

No carrier may lawfully operate an eligible motor vehicle in Connecticut on or after Jan. 1, 2023 without that permit.

Filing Requirements

All registered carriers will be required to file a HUF return for all monthly periods, regardless of whether or not it operated vehicles in the state during a particular month.

Filing and paying the tax will be done electronically using the DRS myconneCT website.

DRS provided a template that carriers can use to report their monthly HUF returns and responses to a series of frequently asked questions.

Carriers are required to keep records, receipts, invoices, and other pertinent papers to support the information reported to DRS.

Carriers are also required to keep records, receipts, invoices, and other pertinent papers to support the information reported to DRS each month.

Each carrier is also required to maintain, on a monthly basis, a list of all eligible motor vehicles that operate on a state highway in the state during each month.

These records must be maintained by the carrier for a minimum of four years and are subject to audit by DRS on request.

Penalties

Any person who knowingly violates the provisions of the statute will be subject to a fine of $1,000.

Interest and penalties also apply to any portion of the tax not paid on or before the original due date of the return.

Interest and penalties also apply to any portion of the tax not paid on or before the original due date.

For example, if a business does not pay the tax when due, it will owe interest at the rate of 1% per month or fraction of a month until the tax is paid in full.

The penalty for an incomplete return or late filing is calculated at 10% of the amount of the tax due and unpaid or $550, whichever is greater.

Carriers seeking more information on HUF compliance should contact the DRS hotline (860.297.5677) Monday through Friday, between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm.

The original article can be found at CBIA.

January 7, 2023 in Legislative News

Goya Foods Offers $20K In Culinary Student Scholarships

Jersey City, New Jersey-based Goya Foods is accepting applications for its annual Culinary Arts and Food Science Scholarships.

Students nationwide entering their freshman year of college pursuing an undergraduate degree in culinary arts and/or food science can apply by March 21. Four students will receive $20,000 each.

Goya’s Culinary Arts Scholarship is available to students entering an accredited two-year or four-year institution. Scholarships are in the amount of $5,000 awarded per academic year starting in fall 2023 and are renewable for up to three additional years provided the student remains eligible to receive funding.

“We believe every student should have access to a good education and an opportunity to go to college,” said Bob Unanue, president of Goya Foods.

“As one of the leading food companies in the world, we want to provide the next generation with the possibility of pursuing their passion in the culinary arts and food sciences, while helping to alleviate some of the financial burden of college expenses.”

Recipients of the Goya Culinary Arts Scholarship will be selected based on the requirements established under the Goya Gives program and administered by Scholarship America, including academic achievement, leadership, community service and financial need, as well as an evaluation of an essay explaining how Goya has enriched their family traditions.

Since the inception of Goya’s Scholarship Fund in 2011, Goya has granted more than $1.7 million in scholarships to students nationwide, as well as the children of its employees.

For more information and to apply, visit learnmore.scholarsapply.org/goyaculinary.

The original article can be found at The Shelby Report.

January 7, 2023 in Member News

Dan Haar: Supermarkets launching all-out push for wine sales in CT

Buying wine in a supermarket counts as one of those activities we do in other states, which causes us to wonder, why can’t we have that in Connecticut?

The reason is that the owners and employees of this state’s 1,250 package stores have persuaded lawmakers over the decades that we’re better off keeping wine and spirits exclusively on their shelves, not in food stores, which do sell beer. They cite jobs, variety of offerings, price, support for local commerce, family business and, you know, everything that’s good and right about America.

They might finally lose their protection in 2023.

When the state legislature opens for another year Wednesday, supermarkets will fight for the right to sell wine like never before, or at least like they haven’t in many years.  The battle of the bottle already features competing “grassroots” websites with thousands of consumers taking sides, and a lineup of lobbyists and industry groups eager to uncork their arguments at the Capitol.

As you might expect, the food stores are making the same arguments as the package stores, in reverse: Letting them purvey California cabernets, Rieslings from the Rhineland and Connecticut claret would ferment convenience for customers and raise the glass for everyone, the food sellers say.

And they say, it would end an arcane practice with roots in a different era, bringing Connecticut in line with 42 states that allow supermarkets to roll wine through the checkout line.

“What we believe is that the market will grow,” said Wayne Pesce, president of the Connecticut Food Association, which represents large supermarkets, smaller food retailers and suppliers.

“This is Connecticut, we have the most puritanical liquor laws in the United States,” Pesce added. “When you try to take this issue on, it’s like touching the third rail because you have a class of trade that’s been protected since its inception.”

This echoes arguments against the protections for auto dealers by the makers of electric vehicles.

A poll and economic report commissioned by the food association, and completed last month by several UConn departments, shows an overwhelming majority of consumers – more than 80 percent – support wine sales in supermarkets. Many say they would continue to shop at their local package stores.

“Based on our survey results, it appears that allowing wine to be sold in grocery stores could substantially improve consumer welfare with limited effects on local liquor stores,” the report said.

Nonsense, said Jean Cronin, executive director of the Connecticut Package Stores Association, who’s been plying this debate since the 1980s.  Sales of alcoholic beverages have been generally flat for years as one product or another gains, then loses, favor. The market isn’t going to grow just because supermarkets join the game, she says.

Package stores would absolutely suffer, she insists, if the product that delivers their largest profit margins and their main source of walk-in trade were to move to supermarket shelves. And shoppers would have fewer choices as supermarkets carry only a few high-selling labels.

“I don’t think that consumers understand what it would do in the marketplace,” said Cronin, of Hughes & Cronin Public Affairs Strategies, whose late husband, Carroll Hughes, fought erosion of package stores’ powers as head of the association until his death in 2021.

Under the concept now bubbling up, with no bill language yet written, grocery stores that now sell beer would be allowed to seek a permit for wine. That’s regulated by the state Department of Consumer Protection, which has a list of some 800-plus grocery beer locations. Basically, food must be their main offering.

This is a vintage battle from the ‘80s that never fully went away. It enjoyed a great year in 2012, when package stores lost the fight against Sunday sales but kept their exclusive selling rights.

It came up again in 2021 with a bill pushed by wine-makers, represented by the Connecticut Vineyard and Winery Association. The Connecticut Food Association didn’t think the time was right, with Covid still raging and a limited legislative session.

This time, they’re rolling out all the barrels – in part because of the pressures supermarkets now face. “The pandemic has had a lasting impact on the way people shop,” Pesce said, and that means they’re looking to shop in fewer stores.

They have signs in stores such as Big Y directing customers to the www.ctwinenow.com website, which has collected the names of 6,000 supporters so far. Their social media tagline: “Red, White and Food” – with its image of wine pairings and patriotism.

Not to be outdone, the package store association is already working the issue hard with lawmakers, countering every point the supermarkets make – and using their local muscle. The average state House district has eight package stores and the average Senate district has 33, and I promise you, few of them sit out these debates.

Members of the newly formed Indian American Package Store Association of Connecticut – many owners are from the South Asian nation – have  created a website, www.ctwinecustomer.com, with its own social media campaign and tagline: “Wine: Where and Why.”

This battle features a lot of subtle flavors and varietals, such as whether the state can, or should, require supermarkets to carry a selection of local, Connecticut-made wines; whether package stores should be allowed to sell items now in supermarkets, which they can’t now do; whether supermarkets could police sales to people under 21 (as they do for beer); and whether states that have added supermarket sales in recent years have seen deep harm to package stores.

Pesce downplays the threat. “We would probably carry a limited variety and less of the high-end wine,” he said.

Hey, maybe we’d see the controversial “Two-Buck Chuck” at Trader Joe’s.  But would supermarkets, with a full aisle of wine, carry fewer of the exotic items I want as a foodie? Pesce says that wouldn’t happen.

Sen. James Maroney, D-Milford, co-chairman of the General Law Committee, said we’ll just have to see how lawmakers lean after a hearing. “Big ideas take a few years sometimes,” he told me Tuesday.

How long can the package stores keep supermarkets out of their business? With consumers wanting the option, it feels like the inevitable sweep of history — but when? Raise a toast to the great wine debate of 2023 at a state Capitol near you.

The original article can be found at CT Insider.

January 5, 2023 in CFA News