Fresh & Easy Promises Accountability and Social Responsibility

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Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market wholeheartedly agrees with the assertion made by Professor Peter Dreier in his Nov. 12 op-ed (“Tesco Should Sign L.A.’s Community Benefits Agreement”) that corporations doing business in Los Angeles should be both accountable and socially responsible in terms of their “impact on workers, consumers, communities and the environment.” It is exactly the type of business we have created at Fresh & Easy.

It is disheartening to learn that residents of Los Angeles neighborhoods have been let down, apparently more than once, by others breaking their promises. In our opinion, that’s no way to build trust between neighbors.

Now that several of our stores are open in neighborhoods across Southern California and in Nevada, we are excited to let consumers decide if we’ve met one of the first promises we made to offer fresh, wholesome foods at affordable prices. We have been greeted by enthusiastic customers who have told us they are pleased we’ve come to their neighborhood and are excited about our product offering.

We have made firm commitments to all neighborhoods where we operate and plan to operate stores, including those in the city of Los Angeles, and we are committed to following through. Some of these commitments:

-We are committed to locating stores in all types of neighborhoods, including those that have been traditionally underserved by modern grocery stores. We have located 18 sites in the city of Los Angeles where we intend to open stores. The final status of these sites depends on our ability to negotiate with landlords, be granted permits in a timely manner and other property related issues, but our commitment remains steadfast. Further, we’ve told city leaders we will open three of these stores at our cost of capital.

-We are committed to selling fresh, wholesome food at affordable prices. We offer a wide range of fresh produce and a broad selection of quality meat, fish and poultry. Additionally, all of our private label products have no artificial colors or flavors, no added trans fats and use preservatives only when absolutely necessary.

-We are committed to being a good steward of the environment. We’ve joined the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design volume certification program to demonstrate our commitment to build sustainable stores. We’ve also joined the California Climate Action Registry, California’s only official voluntary greenhouse gas emissions registry. And at our Riverside distribution center, we put the largest roof-mounted solar installation in California. It was installed by Solar Integrated, a local Los Angeles company. The installation is 500,000 square feet and a $13 million investment.

-We are committed to being a great place to work. Fresh & Easy entry-level positions pay $10 an hour in California with a quarterly bonus of up to 10 percent. We intend for all our employees to work 20 hours a week or more, and be eligible for comprehensive health care, including medical, prescription drug, dental and vision coverage with Fresh & Easy paying at least 75 percent of the cost. We offer a 401(k) retirement plan with a company match and generous paid time off. Our rewards package has been met with great enthusiasm we received over 1,000 applications for 170 positions at our first six stores.


Based on deeds

Professor Dreier asked us to confirm our commitments in the form of a community benefits agreement. We prefer to begin a relationship based on our deeds, and we have respectfully declined this request. We ask for the opportunity to open our stores, serve our neighbors, and demonstrate we will live up to our commitments. While trust has to be earned, I can assure you, there’s no group of people more committed to doing what we’ve promised than the team at Fresh & Easy.


Simon Uwins is the chief marketing officer for the Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market chain of groceries.

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