Jewel-Osco kicks off celebrations for Black History Month
ITASCA, Ill. — Supervalu's Jewel-Osco on Wednesday announced that they will celebrate Black History Month with the company's 14th annual "A Taste of Black History" program, which honors the contributions and achievements of the retailer's African-American vendor partners.
"'Taste of Black History' gives us an opportunity to thank our African-American vendors for everything they do for our company and our customers," stated Brian Huff, Jewel-Osco president. "This outstanding group of business men and women plays an important role in our success, and we hope consumers realize that when they purchase African-American vendor products, they are supporting these wonderful entrepreneurs."
The initiative kicked off on Thursday with a VIP shopping event for customers featuring customer tasting events. The kickoff event also will feature live music by Chicago band Zzaje' and an appearance by celebrity chef Josh Marks, who was the runner-up on the third season of the FOX reality cooking show "MasterChef." Marks, now the national spokesman for Jewel-Osco African-American vendor Real Men Cook, will prepare dishes for customers to sample and will be available for pictures and autographs.
In addition, the retailer will donate a total of $10,000 to three community organizations, including Chicago's St. Felicitas Church Food Pantry and Grant A Wish Food Pantry, which were chosen for their commitment to hunger relief. Customers will help select a third donation recipient by casting votes for their favorite African-American vendor products during the kickoff event. Jewel-Osco will provide the third contribution to the charity selected by the brand that receives the most customer votes.
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