What are your top three legislative priorities in 2023? My top legislative priorities mirror what our Democratic caucus is pushing for, and that is better jobs, better schools and safer communities. There are so many ways to achieve these goals, and I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House, Senate and our new Gov. Josh Shapiro to make that happen.

What are the important issues facing your district? The three most important issues facing our district would be the quality of education, decreasing gun violence and home affordability.

Where do you shop locally for food? I shop at the Fresh Grocer on Grays Ferry Avenue in the Grays Ferry Shopping Center in my district, which is not far from my home.

What is your favorite vacation destination? It’s actually not a vacation destination, but a mode of vacation. I enjoy cruises. We could cruise to anywhere; I just enjoy the experience of going on a cruise.

What are the biggest challenges for grocers in your district? I think getting and maintaining quality products, like fresh fruits and vegetables, and doing so at an affordable cost has been a problem for grocers in my community in the past. I think additionally, like most industries, grocers also have a need to train and grow a workforce, particularly a workforce that looks like and reflects the community the grocery store is serving.

What are your biggest challenges and successes as a legislator? My biggest challenge has been not being able to always help everyone who needs help. Understanding that what I can do and what my office can do has limitations is difficult. While my heart wants to help and solve every problem, it’s hard to not always be able to accomplish that. 
My biggest success has been the collective work of our caucus to be united and stick together over the last few years as well as the bipartisan success of our Clean Slate legislation and the fact that Pennsylvania’s Clean Slate law has become a national model that has led to second chances in numerous other states.

What is your favorite food or meal to cook? I make a really good parmesan chicken. It is by far my favorite meal to cook, but I also make an amazing seafood mac and cheese.
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What do you like to do for fun? I’ve grown up loving and I continue to love music. A lot of people don’t know that I grew up playing the piano in my church. I have a love for music, both listening and playing in my free time. Additionally, I’ve found myself more and more interested in writing. Not for any particular purpose or genre, but just writing out my thoughts.

What are your top three legislative priorities in 2022? Reforming the way we pay for our education system. In my district we are far too reliant on property taxes and do not get our fair share from Harrisburg through the funding formula. This needs to change. Our homeowners are hurting and our students are getting shortchanged. I am also looking forward to helping get statewide investment in a very successful First in Math Program to help students in K-8 improve their math skills. And while the clock ran out on this last round of redistricting, I remain committed to changing the system to ensure that the voters choose their legislators and not the politicians choosing their voters.

What are the important issues facing your district? The No. 1 issue facing my district is property taxes. Not a day goes by where I don’t get  phone calls or emails asking about reforming the system.

Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc. (AWG) is the nation’s largest cooperative food wholesaler to independently owned supermarkets. The company serves over 1,100 member companies and over 3,100 locations throughout 28 states from 8 full-line wholesale divisions. 

Dream2Career, LLC, handles direct hire, seasonal staffing, pathways recruiting, contract staffing, payroll, workers compensation, onboarding, skills training, background checks, time management, benefits management, rewards programs, educational reimbursement program management and quality-of-life programs. 

The Masser Family of Companies have grown and delivered quality potatoes to retailers and foodservice operators for more than eight generations. The Pennsylvanian business combines years of potato growing experience with advanced technology and a personal touch to ensure they deliver the quality product to best meet their customer’s needs. The company’s culture focuses on extraordinary service from extraordinary people.  Grown where it matters.

As a beaded ice cream pioneer, Mini Melts manufactures some of the most delicious premium ice cream on the market. Founded in Philadelphia, Mini Melts can be found in retailers and entertainment venues nationwide. 

Poly Craft is a manufacturer of flexible packaging, including roll stock, pouches and bags with and without lamination. The company also uses recyclable and sustainable film options.

Saint Rocco’s Treats was founded in May 2020 by two brothers with a passion for entrepreneurship, a love for dogs and knowledge of dog treat craftsmanship, thanks to their dad and grandpa. The company aims to foster transparency and quality in the dog treat and food industry through vertically integrated gourmet dog kitchens, human-grade ingredients and five-ingredient recipes Saint Rocco’s Treats are fresh-baked in small batches each week and crafted using an artisan production process. Saint Rocco’s Treats are available in 120+ independent retailers in the tri-state area and online nationwide.
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Sharing Excess delivers surplus food to communities in need. Its mission is to bridge the gap between excess and scarcity by partnering with grocery stores, restaurants, wholesalers and farmers to deliver surplus food to a network of nonprofits, food banks and community organizations, alleviating local food insecurity.
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What are your top three legislative priorities in 2022? As chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, my top legislative priorities are advancing the reforms recommended by the Juvenile Justice Task Force, pushing comprehensive changes to Pennsylvania’s probation system, enacting comprehensive reform of guardianship laws and prioritizing passage of a constitutional amendment opening a window for adult victims of child sex abuse.

What is your biggest motivator as a legislator? My biggest motivators are cutting red tape, making government more accountable and eliminating unnecessary barriers to deliver positive results for individuals, organizations and communities. My staff and I work very hard to help to solve problems, answer questions, and respond to concerns about state issues and legislation and connect people with available services, resources and assistance.

Where do you shop locally for food? My husband Gary and I shop at various local supermarkets, including Weis Markets, Gerrity’s, Mountain Fresh, Wegmans and Price Chopper.

What is your favorite vacation destination? We enjoy vacationing in the Outer Banks region of North Carolina, taking in the scenery, riding bikes and fishing along the beaches of the Cape Hatteras National Sea Shore.

What are the biggest challenges for grocers in your district? Like many employers, local grocery stores have experienced challenges with recruiting and retaining workers as well as the lack of availability of products due to supply chain issues.  The pandemic has also shifted the way consumers shop, and the growing demand for curbside pickup and other online features has placed an added burden on the industry.

What are your biggest challenges and successes as a legislator? Because of my responsibilities as chair of a key committee, and as someone who spends a lot of time negotiating complex legislative solutions, time is always a challenge.  The 20th District encompasses all or parts of five counties, representing 116 communities and 22 school districts, so there are unique challenges in the physical distance that must be covered. I often have conflicting requests to attend events, but one of my fundamental commitments as a legislator is to be visible and accessible in all parts of the district.

I am proud of my record of service in the Senate and have worked collaboratively to enact 73 laws, including ensuring victims and families have the opportunity to provide in-person testimony at parole hearings; establishing the Veterans’ Service Officer program to make sure veterans have access to promised benefits, creating the Veterans Trust Fund to provide emergency assistance to needy veterans and their families and implementing ABLE (Achieving a Better Life Experience) accounts to allow disabled individuals to save for their futures. I have also advocated on behalf of residents and local officials to secure the funding necessary for job creation, transportation improvements, and important community-identified projects, such as the newly announced Vosburg Neck State Park in Wyoming County.

What is your favorite food or meal to cook? Gary and I love to cook and entertain friends and family in our home. One of the most requested dishes that we make is Maine lobster macaroni and cheese, which features five varieties of cheeses. However, my favorite meal to cook is Thanksgiving. I always look forward to enjoying my father’s homemade stuffing recipe with our turkey and all the trimmings.
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What do you like to do for fun? When I’m not restoring and repurposing antique furniture, I enjoy walking with our English Setter, Finley, spending time with our grandchildren, Bryce and Blair, and relaxing on the deck with a good book.

Famed American chef, author and TV personality James Beard once said, “Food is our common ground, a universal experience.”
This commonality in the human experience makes issues surrounding food particularly significant. For 70 years, PFMA has dedicated its work to improving access to healthy foods, better jobs and more opportunities in the food and beverage retail industry.  
 
“Our business really is food. It’s bringing people together, it’s bringing issues to the forefront, it’s improving the quality and the climate of Pennsylvania business for the food industry,” said Alex Baloga, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association.

The business of food

When Christy Spoa got out of the U.S. Army in 1957, he headed back to the family’s grocery store in Ellwood City. As a 100-year-old, family-owned community business, every day was different. 

“As an independent particularly, as a single store operator, you wore a lot of hats. You might be dealing with the insurance agent in the morning, a buyer in the afternoon and some type of maintenance issue later on,” Spoa said.

“Being in an association, you had an opportunity to learn from others’ experiences. We all had the same issues, maybe in a little different way, but they were basically all the same. For me, it was an education.”

Spoa joined the PFMA Board of Directors in 1987 and was elected chair in 1993. Through his involvement, he realized the importance of his voice as an independent grocer. He had never been to Harrisburg or Washington, D.C., but quickly learned the impact he could make on legislators.

“There was no voice for the independent operator,” he said. “Most of us at that time thought the only people who had a voice were the large chains. And when you talked to the large chains, they were actually glad that the independents were getting involved, because they felt it was a necessary part of the equation.”

Lisa Dell’Alba, president and CEO of Square One Markets, Inc., and current PFMA board chair, stresses the value in networking through the association. Sharing best practices and working together to advocate for the industry are key. “It’s really important we are all a team. At the end of the day we all support each other in terms of providing necessary things for our customers and for the folks in the state of Pennsylvania.”

An extended family

Spoa and Hartman developed lifelong relationships through their work in the industry and with PFMA. To this day, they meet or bump into people they worked with on PFMA priorities.

“Everybody in the food industry is extended family,” Spoa said. “We were competitors, but we were all willing to help each other. I don’t know if you find that in a lot of industries, but you do find that in the food industry.”

Dell’Alba has relied on her PFMA relationships many times through the years. “I think it’s important to stay connected to others in the industry that do what we do, especially over the last two to three years, where there’s been a lot of uncertainty, a lot of trying times. Camaraderie is really important. I joined PFMA to make sure that I was meeting other folks that I could learn from, network with and commiserate with at times when it’s necessary.”

It’s also more than business. PFMA members work hard to serve their communities, supporting local sports teams, schools, fundraisers, charities and social events. 

“It’s a people business,” Baloga said. “I’m proud of the work that our members do and to be able to work with such a great group of people. They’re not only great businesspeople, they are even better people. …What really makes me the proudest is the work they do in the community to make Pennsylvania better.”

“I just enjoy being around food people. I miss the business, I miss the people,” Spoa said, “but boy it’s a whole new set of issues today.”

Future focused

With a solid foundation, PFMA is poised for future success. 

“The food industry isn’t going away,” Hartman said. “People eat—whether it’s through economic ups and downs or through pandemics. People eat things that we sell. The idea is to be advocates on how we can sell more stuff, and what that stuff is, because we’re very good at selling food and services.”

A history of strong leadership helps PFMA’s members stay aware of and involved in important issues, Spoa said. “I think we’ve always had good leadership from Al Vicks who started, to Dave McCorkle who I worked with for all the years I was on the board and now to Alex who is doing a bang-up job. I think the future is bright. I think the industry future is bright.”

PFMA boasts a growing membership with strong momentum, Baloga said. The association continues to tackle issues that matter to its members, and the public has a heightened sense of respect and appreciation for retailers thanks to their dedication during the pandemic.
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“Our future is very bright with this group of members behind us.”



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Make no bones about it, Kolby and Kaleb Rush were onto something when they cooked up a unique plan for a pandemic project.

The brothers from Bucks County were in college when COVID-19 hit, sending them home to learn remotely. Both had secured internships, but the pandemic derailed their goals. So, they set new goals. 

“We got sent home from both of our respective campuses,” Kolby said.
"We thought we should probably start doing something because we lost internship opportunities. …We thought starting a business—as small as it might be—would be an awesome resume line.”

That thought has grown into much more than a line on a resume. Today, Kolby and Kaleb Rush co-own Saint Rocco’s Treats, a Perkasie-based, small batch, craft dog treat company. But it didn’t happen overnight.

Kolby and Kaleb chose to focus on familiar territory. At the time, Kaleb had his sights set on a business degree at Temple, eventually settling with an entrepreneurship major and marketing minor. Kolby was in his senior year at Penn State focused on finance. They also had some industry insight.

“We were really fortunate because we’ve grown up, through our dad and grandpa, in the dog treat industry. We worked for our dad directly for a number of years, so we roughly knew how to make up dog treats,” Kolby said. “We knew about the backend of the industry, and we saw there really are no local companies making high-quality, meat-based dog treats.”

From there, the duo worked alongside their dad to craft recipes. (Cooper, the family’s Cavapoo, eagerly agreed to taste test.) Then it was full speed ahead with logo design, social media, website development, door-to-door samples and more. 

PFMA welcomed associate members this summer that specialize in bakery products, smoke-free products, smoked meats and consulting and tech solutions for retailers.

bakerly began with founders Julien and Fabian from Northwestern France who combined their passion and love for good food to create a happy company. Their goal is to create the same high-quality bakery products that they enjoyed as children in France. bakerly relies on skilled artisan bakers who use French tradition and clean ingredients for their products while avoiding artificial colors, flavors, preservatives and high-fructose corn syrup.

Philip Morris International (PMI) is in the midst of a profound corporate transformation—with the ultimate objective of becoming a smoke-free company, driven by science and technology, and they are making rapid progress. 

They are fully committed to this transformation, and their investment is unmatched in the industry. Since 2008, PMI has centrally invested over $9 billion to research, develop and commercialize a portfolio of smoke-free products. For the first half of 2022, these products account for more than 30 percent of PMI’s total net revenues—their goal is to be a majority smoke-free company in 2025. PMI’s future will be smoke-free. There is no going back.   

As part of its smoke-free journey, PMI is excited to enter the United States in a meaningful way and unlock the significant opportunity across other smoke-free categories over the coming years.

Since 1902, Seltzer’s Smokehouse Meats has delivered 100% all-beef, naturally smoked meats. This fourth-generation Palmyra-based business uses Old World butchering, curing, and sausage making skills to craft the world’s finest smoked meats. Attesting to its reputation for excellence, all of Seltzer’s smoked meats are prepared with typical Pennsylvania Dutch quality and pride. 

STCR provides consulting, analytics and technology solutions for retailers including planning and training. Learn how STCR can help with retail innovation such as self checkout, registers, scanners, label printers, software integration and more.