Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro will be the keynote speaker at the Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association’s Annual Conference in May.
“As Pennsylvania’s top law enforcement official, Attorney General Shapiro has fought for protections for
seniors, veterans, and businesses as well as implemented measures to safeguard consumers from
scams and fraud,” PFMA President and CEO Alex Baloga said. “We are delighted and honored to
welcome him for our keynote address and believe his message with resonate with conference attendees.”
PFMA will also present an award to its Board Chairman Jeff Brown, CEO of Brown’s Super Stores, Inc.,
during dinner on the first day of the conference, which is scheduled for May 28-29 at the Pennsylvania
Convention Center in Philadelphia. The award honors Brown’s career long service to the food industry
and advocacy efforts on behalf of food retailers.
In his role, Brown oversees operations at 10 ShopRite stores and two Fresh Grocer stores.
“Jeff’s tireless advocacy has helped bring about legislative and policy change in Philadelphia and
statewide,” Baloga said. “Among other efforts, he has led the charge against the city’s onerous sugarsweetened beverage tax, enacted in 2017, that has crippled businesses in the city of Philadelphia and led to the closure of one of his own stores in West Philadelphia.
In addition to his legislative work, Jeff volunteers with the Philadelphia Youth Network, the State of
Pennsylvania Workforce Development Board, the Governor’s Advisory Board of Workforce and Education
Innovation, and he serves as an officer on the Wakefern Corporation’s Board of Directors.
Brown also helped found and serves on the Board of Directors for Uplift Sustainable Food Solutions,
which is dedicated to developing innovative operational strategies and smart public incentive policies to
make supermarkets the core of a complete sustainable food system in underserved communities.
