Associated Food Stores Honored with Beef Backer® Award

Associated Food Stores’ commitment to beef marketing, staff training and customer service earned them the 2008 Beef Backer Award in the Chain Category. Associated, which has 480 stores in 8 western states, was recognized for its participation in several beef checkoff-funded programs such as Easy Fresh Cooking^® and Beef Value Cuts, as well other independent
merchandising programs carried out by the retailer.

Associated Food Stores conducts a Meat Category Masters Series that serves as a year-round educational resource for the entire meat department. The company held four major seminars in 2008 to train personnel on new beef cuts, merchandising techniques, and customer service.

Associated’s meat department carries a wide variety of beef cuts under nine different brands to accommodate customers’ needs. The store’s branding campaign for ground beef, the Ultimate Ground Beef program, highlights the in-store daily fresh grinding and safety of Associated’s ground beef products.