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title: "The IGA Minute: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Five Star Award Recipients"
description: "See who made Five Star status this year, plus: learn how gene editing will impact independent grocers, and vote for the Best Practice Awards"
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Everything you need to know about how science & technology will affect the food you sell, plus vote today for the Best Practice Awards!

| View in browser February 27, 2020 FROM THE DESK OF John Ross IGA CEO CRISPR: How Science & Technology will Affect the Future of Food   Imagine a world where you can offer your shoppers wheat that is naturally gluten-free. Fruits and vegetables with extra vitamins and protein. Even super chickens the size of ostriches. IGA CEO John Ross explores how the gene editing technique called CRISPR will transform the food we sell, and what it means for independent retailers.  FEATURED STORY The 2019 IGA Assessment Program Results Are In—Who Made Five Star Status?   The new IGA Assessment Program is complete for 2019. See what changed, who earned Five Star status, and what IGA plans to change for the 2020 assessments. HOMETOWN HAPPENINGS Lake Region IGA Focuses on Health Education   If “you are what you eat,” then Lake Region IGA in Hawley, Pennsylvania is putting their money where their mouths are. Now in their second year of offering health education classes, shoppers are attending for the knowledge and recipes and boosting sales in healthy categories like produce.  BEST PRACTICE AWARD FINALISTS We'll be featuring our Best Practice Award Finalists each week in The IGA Minute through the 2020 IGA Global Rally. Do you see a favorite Best Practice? Access the voting page via the button at the top of that page or visit the voting page. App Drives Employee Connection & Satisfaction   With 15 stores across four states, communication is critical to the Adams Hometown Market brand, but also difficult to maintain using traditional methods. A texting app has boosted team morale and increased overall employee satisfaction—especially among their millennial employees.  Day-old Bread Becomes Value-added Product   To reduce food waste and increase profits, Nemenz IGA's bakery takes day-old breads and grinds them into bread crumbs to use in the hot foods department or turns it into bread cubes for holiday stuffing at Thanksgiving, selling more than 300 bags during the holiday. 2-Day Motherlode Meat Sale Boosts Sales 362%   Super Bear and Foodland IGAs run two-day “Motherlode Meat Sales," demonstrating custom cuts on the sales floor to emphasize the freshness of the meat and the skill of their butchers, differentiating them from other stores that only carry pre-packaged meats. Vision Statement Gives Store a Mission & Inspires Staff   Red Bud and Millstadt IGA figured out exactly who they are and what they value and put it in a new vision statement that defines their core principles, resulting in a more invested team, increased giving, and a debt-free company.  HOTEL INFORMATION Hotel rooms are still available at the reduced rate. Contact IGA's Barbara Wiest at 773.695.2635 to make arrangements. Download the Rally App   The IGA Global Rally is less than a month away, so now’s the perfect time to start planning your Rally experience with the IGA Rally App. Available for iPhone and Android users, your IGA Global Rally App will keep you in-the-know about all things Rally—before, during, and after the event! IN THE NEWS Big CPGs warn of financial hit from coronavirus as global outbreak worsens (Grocery Dive) Key takeaways from the NGA Show (Progressive Grocer) NGA celebrates 2020 Creative Choice Award winners (Winsight Grocery Business) USDA raises 2020 total red meat, poultry forecast (Supermarket News) Supermarket delis offer sustainability to-go (Supermarket News) Baking Industry Alliance, USO prepare service members for civilian jobs (The Shelby Report) About the IGA Minute   Welcome to The IGA Minute, the weekly newsletter that gives you the IGA news you need the way you want it. Only have a minute? Scan the lead page for a quick overview of important news. Have a bit more time? Click "a minute more" to get the full scoop. Subscribe Here!   Don't forget to follow us on: Facebook  \|  LinkedIn   Have an idea for content or questions about the editorial calendar? Email Ashley Page, content editor of The IGA Minute. For advertising queries, contact Jessica Vician.  Refer Your Friends! Share with your friends on social media IGA Inc., 8745 West Higgins Road, STE 350, Chicago, IL 60631, United States Unsubscribe Manage preferences |
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