Goya, National Supermarket Association Host Taste of Latinoamerica -Event showcased foods dished up by students of NYC's Food and Finance High School

Goya Foods teamed up with the National Supermarket Association (NSA) this week to host the Taste of Latinoamerica, a Latin-themed three-course meal pop-up restaurant. The effort was part of the Food Education Fund’s (FEF's) Restaurant Pop-Up Lunch Series.

The luncheon, which featured popular ethnic dishes made with Goya products, was fully prepared and led by students of New York's Food and Finance High School (FFHS). Funds raised from the event also benefited the public high school, located in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan. The school is the city's only culinary high school and one of only a few in the nation.

As part of Goya’s support of the FEF, the company established an annual culinary competition in New York, along with scholarships for FFHS students. Goya also provides product donations for the School Grounds Cafe, a student-run business at the school. 

The FEF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works to promote sustainable positive life outcomes for New York City youth.

“We couldn’t be prouder to be a partner of the Food Education Fund," said Bob Unanue, president of Goya. "It’s amazing to see how motivated and engaged the students are with the incredible support and team of the Fund." Goya takes great pride in making a difference in students' lives, Unanue said.

Students at FFHS take an hour and a half of cooking, baking and pastry courses each day as a part of their coursework, in addition to a full standard high school academic program. With a graduation rate averaging around 90%, the school has prepared hundreds of students to succeed in culinary and food management careers. 

"The NSA is proud to be a new partner of the Food Education Fund and to help empower and support these students throughout high school and beyond," said William Rodriguez, president of NSA. "We are dedicated to giving back to the communities, where our supermarkets are located and, thanks to Goya Foods, we were introduced to a wonderful way where we could do just that."

Founded by Hispanic entrepreneurs in 1989, NSA is a trade association that represents independent supermarket owners in New York and other urban area throughout the East Coast, Mid-Atlantic region and Florida.

GROCERS WITH SCANNERS SHOULDN’T NEED A PRICE STICKER ON EVERY ITEM

March 13, 2019,

by William Rodriguez, (National President of the National Supermarket Association)

Next time you wander the aisles of your local supermarket, take notice of the price stickers on every can of soup, box of cereal and bag of rice. Although prices are displayed on the shelves, itemized pricing on most items is required by an outdated city law. This redundant tagging is a colossal waste of time for workers, and grocers incur thousands of dollars in penalties because, inevitably, some items are missed or mislabeled.

The city's Department of Consumer Affairs makes routine inspections of small grocers and fines them up to $18 per improperly tagged item. The agency has issued more than 12,000 such violations in the past three years.

The law dates back to the 1990s, when there was concern that consumers wouldn't know an item's price until they reached the register. Advancements in price scanning and inventory-management systems now ensure that customers can feel confident that the item's price aligns with the shelf tag, which they typically can double-check with a scanner. The law has been rendered nothing but a burden on small businesses and their workers.

Small grocers in the city face a grim future with rising rents, over-regulation and competition from corporate chains and online retailers. Their regulation by the state Agriculture and Health departments and the city Health, Consumer Affairs, Environmental Protection and Sanitation departments leads to an enormous number of fines in an industry that operates on paper-thin margins.

The City Council must update its laws to reflect the new technology and provide much-needed relief to local grocery-store owners. Intro. 1145, sponsored by Brooklyn Councilman Rafael Espinal Jr., is a start. The bill would exempt grocers that have an electronic scanner available for customer use from the itemized pricing rule. Many stores already have scanners. By removing a burdensome and costly regulation, the bill would allow store employees to be more efficient in their daily routine and would spur more small grocers to add scanners, improving the customer experience.

To lessen the burden on businesses that have been cornerstones of their communities for decades, the City Council should tag the price-sticker law obsolete.