Sourcing efforts, diversity training, and grants for small businesses are among the strategies.
In addition to promoting a diverse range of suppliers, retailers are increasingly focusing on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within their own communities and stores. We asked three retailers to share their perspective on DEI and what strategies they have used to enhance their efforts.
The Panel:
Amelia Rappaport, Woodstock Farmers’ Market, Woodstock, Vermont
Hannah Serrano, Taste, Norfolk, Virginia
Brenna Davis, PCC Community Markets, Seattle
Q: How are you addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion?
Amelia Rappaport, Woodstock Farmers’ Market, Woodstock, Vermont
“Unfortunately, there is not very much diversity in the Vermont population in terms of race. I will say that there are currently thousands of unfilled jobs in the service sector in our state, and our governor, Phil Scott, has actively appealed for immigrants to move here, not just to increase diversity but to fill jobs.
However, we do have a significant number of staff members who identify as LGBTQ, and I’m proud to say that we have a reputation for being an inclusive place to work for that community. As far as our suppliers are concerned, we will be working on signage to underscore which products come from women- and BIPOC-owned businesses.
When looking for diverse suppliers, we don’t really have a system. As members of the Good Food Merchants Alliance, we are exposed to hundreds of wonderful products every year, and the Alliance makes sure to champion companies owned by women and those who are BIPOC, drawing attention to these qualities. In a way, the Good Food Foundation does a lot of the research for us.”
Hannah Serrano, Taste, Norfolk, Virginia
“At Taste, we believe that diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential to our mission of cultivating community. Last year, we created a Diversity & Inclusion Committee to champion these causes and help continue our efforts to self-assess, learn, and evolve as an organization.
As an employer, we are committed to hiring, retaining, and developing a workforce and leadership team that reflects the diverse communities we serve. We believe minorities, women, LGBTQ+, and people with disabilities deserve more access and opportunity, and we are actively recruiting people of all different backgrounds to our teams during our ongoing hiring process.
We define ourselves as hospitable team players who strive to be better every day. To truly embody those core values, we have made a more concerted effort to make sure our guests feel welcome and safe, and that our team members feel valued and heard.
We know that representation matters on all levels of our business. As a retailer that seeks to highlight Coastal Virginia's rich food culture, we have taken a more active approach to diversifying our products and supply chain by seeking out and giving more consideration to minority- and women-owned vendors.”
Brenna Davis, PCC Community Markets, Seattle
“We recently released our annual Co-op Purposes Report where we update our members on how our actions map to our mission of ensuring good food nourishes the communities we serve, while cultivating vibrant, local, organic food systems. The report covers key areas our members expect, like progress on our sustainability goals: creating a plastic-free deli and achieving carbon negative store operations. But last year marked an inflection point where our community demanded even more transparency into the co-op—specifically around diversity.
In response, our 2020 report introduced an update on PCC’s justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts including our first release of staff demographic data. In 2020, PCC created and filled a new role, a staffing and diversity, equity, and inclusion manager to expand our focus on JEDI. In addition, we trained all of our store managers in a two-day “leading for racial equity” course, and we rolled out an implicit bias training to those at our new store locations, with virtual learning coming soon to all stores. It’s also important to support our diverse communities, so we expanded our diverse entrepreneur incubation program with microgrants, reached out to legislators to support environmental justice and social justice legislation like the Justice for Black Farmers Act, and continued to give to BIPOC-led organizations around the region. By embracing JEDI, we are actively building a culture of inclusion, strengthening our relationships with diverse communities and working to reach a broader consumer base."
Related: Retail Panelists Open to New Products With Diverse Ownership; New Publishing Imprint Focuses on BIPOC Creators.
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