FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Dave Heylen, V.P. Communications California Grocers Association
Tel: 916.448.3545
Fax: 916.448.2793
E-mail: [email protected]
California Grocers Association
1415 L Street, Suite 450
Sacramento, CA 95814
Grocery industry answers request from Governor, Sacramento Mayor for needed hygiene items.
SACRAMENTO, CA – (March 25, 2009) The California Grocers Association and member companies Safeway Inc. and Save Mart Supermarkets are partnering with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson to provide toiletry kits for approximately 200 homeless individuals living in an encampment near the American River Parkway that has become known internationally as “Tent City.”
The kits were distributed at a joint Governor/Mayor press conference on Wednesday, March 25, 2009, to discuss a plan to move many of the city’s homeless to facilities at Cal Expo. City officials hope the plan will result in the closure of Tent City in the coming months.
The kits included toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant, soap, and other personal hygiene items. “CGA thanks Safeway Inc. and Save Mart Supermarkets for their ready willingness and quick response to this important request,” said Ronald Fong, CGA President and CEO.
Fong said the grocery industry has a long history of partnering with the Governor’s office during times of emergencies. In December, area grocers delivered more than 120 pallets of food to the state Capitol in support of the Governor’s “We Can” Holiday Food Drive.
The California Grocers Association is a non-profit, statewide trade association representing the food industry since 1898. CGA represents approximately 500 retail members operating over 6,000 food stores in California and Nevada, and approximately 200 grocery supplier companies. Retail membership includes chain and independent supermarkets, convenience stores and mass merchandisers.