​The Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association welcomes Mike Gould, president of Core-Mark International’s Pennsylvania Division, to its Board of Directors.
 
Gould joined Core-Mark as division president in January 2021. In this role, he services convenience retail customers throughout the commonwealth. 
 
“Our association and membership will benefit from Mike’s vast experience in food retail as he takes on this position with the PFMA Board of Directors,” said Alex Baloga, PFMA president and CEO. “We’re thankful for his time and the continued support of our sponsor, Core-Mark/Eby-Brown.” 
 
Gould has extensive experience on both the retail and distribution side. He previously worked as market manager with 7-Eleven, overseeing 100 convenience stores in north-central New Jersey. More recently, he worked as the Director of Operations at C&S Wholesale Grocer’s 550,000-square-foot frozen grocery distribution center in Westfield, Massachusetts.
 
A West Point graduate, Gould served 26 years in the U.S. Army. He held a variety of leadership roles, both overseas and stateside, including in Iraq and Afghanistan.  
 
PFMA is led by a 35-member Board of Directors that includes retail and associate members. This volunteer group shapes the association's agenda.

​Shelf Confidence will kick off its second season next week, discussing food retail trends and innovations with Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association (PFMA) members.
 
The first episode on Wednesday, Feb. 2, features the Pennsylvania Lottery. Drew Svikto, Pennsylvania Lottery Executive Director, and Eric Grubbs, the Deputy Executive Director of Sales and Retail Operations, discuss how the PA Lottery is modernizing its services for retailers in 2022. The organization also is ramping up for its 50th-anniversary celebration.
 
New PFMA member High’s convenience stores then joins the podcast to talk about earning its Safe Shop Assured ™ Certification. A result of the pandemic, this new third-party certified, 10-step checklist ensures that qualified retailers have the highest safety and cleanliness standards.
 
Also on deck for season two, Yuengling discusses it’s expansion West, Fresh Grocer of the Burns Neighborhood Family Markets talk about community impact programs, and plenty more.
 
“The resourcefulness and creativity in food and beverage retail, particularly under the pressure of the last two years, has been nothing short of amazing. Shelf Confidence gives our members a chance to share the ways they continue innovating to progress and rise above the obstacles they face,” said Alex Baloga, PFMA president and CEO. 
 
Shelf Confidence launched in July 2021. The inaugural 10-episode season highlighted sustainability with The GIANT Company, home meal kits at Karns Quality Foods, tackling food waste with Country Fair, reframing healthy snacking with Utz, and many other topics. 
 
Shelf Confidence posts a new episode every other Wednesday morning. The podcast is available at shelfconfidence.buzzsprout.com, or listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts.

The Butter Up! contest whipped up some at-home excitement before the Pennsylvania Farm Show officially kicked off earlier this week.
 
In December, the PA Farm Show and Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association (PFMA) partnered for the second amateur butter sculpting contest. The interactive at-home contest is a nod to the popular 1,000-pound butter sculpture revealed at the start of each PA Farm Show.
 
Garret McCall of Cambria County earned the top spot for the second straight year. Congratulations to all the Butter Up! winners:
 

• 5 and under: Winner, Natalee Amundson, Northumberland County
  
• Elementary: Winner, Sophia Amundson, Northumberland County; runner-up, Thaleia Custer, Dauphin County
  
• Middle school: Winner, Laura Amundson, Northumberland County; runner-up, Joey Gow, Berks County
  
• High school: Winner, Yseult Barbedette, Schuylkill County; runner-up, Faith Decker, Somerset County
  
• Adult: Winner, Garret McCall, Cambria County; runner-up, Pamela McConnell, Lawrence County

 
Entries were submitted mid-December from across the state. The nine winners, voted on by friends of the PA Farm Show Facebook page, showed their sculpting skills by depicting produce, dairy and animals. Each winner and runner up received a gift card donated by members of PFMA.
 
“We were thrilled to participate in this fun virtual experience for Pennsylvanians once again, and the results did not disappoint,” said Alex Baloga, president and CEO of PFMA. “These entries helped to celebrate and recognize the work put in by our friends at the Farm Show and in the dairy industry. Thank you to all who entered and to our PFMA members for donating prizes.”
 
The Butter Up! contest first started in January 2021 to create engaging online activities during the virtual PA Farm Show. “Pennsylvanians anticipate the unveiling of the 1,000-pound sculpture signaling that the Pennsylvania Farm Show has arrived,” added Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding. “In 2021 and 2022, the Butter Up! contest has been one more way to tell the story of the hardworking people of the PA dairy industry who feed our economy and our families day in and day out. Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association members are part of that story.”
 
The 2022 PA Farm Show butter sculpture highlights strength in diversity and unity. Sponsored by the American Dairy Association North East, it features urban and rural agriculturalists coming together while toasting glasses of milk.
 
PFMA was pleased to support the event, the Farm Show and our partners in agriculture and dairy. A special thanks goes to our members The GIANT Company, C&S Wholesale Grocers, Wegmans, Square One Markets and Giant Eagle/GetGo for contributing prizes.