Safeway has been serving San Franciscans since 1926 and operates sixteen locations across the City. Safeway is a union represented employer with nearly 2,000 employees in San Francisco, led by District Manager Elena Arroyo. Read more in our Partner Spotlight with Safeway’s Wendy Gutshall, Director of Public Affairs.
How does Safeway support a diverse workforce?
We take great pride in fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace that reflects the communities we serve. Diversity and inclusion is a key component of our programs for recruitment, development and training of employees and leaders. We partner with various community based organizations to recruit job candidates, including Jewish Vocational Center, Positive Resource Center, United Way, and other organizations. Safeway was a recent finalist for its efforts to hire individuals from non-traditional backgrounds at the JobTrain Bridge Awards held in San Francisco.
How does Safeway give back to the San Francisco community?
In 2018, Safeway contributed more than $20 million in food and financial support to local organizations in the communities it serves. Our Foundation distributed over $5.5 million in grants for its key philanthropic causes, including hunger relief, cancer research, programs for people with disabilities, veterans and education. Local grant recipients included: ARC of San Francisco, Quantum Leap Healthcare Collaborative and Swords to Plowshares, to name a few.
We generated close to 100,000 breakfast meals to kids in need through the Hunger Is® campaign last year and contributed over a half million pounds of food to San Francisco-Marin Food Bank from our in-store food drives. Our local employees volunteer to support a variety of causes, including the Citywide Cleanup day hosted by the Public Works department last year.
What is Safeway doing to keep up with eCommerce trends?
The company continues to make investments in and expand our capabilities in e-commerce, digital marketing and loyalty programs to provide value to our customers. We have four drive-up and go locations for pickup service in San Francisco and have expanded our fast delivery through Instacart which allows our customers to have access to same day delivery in as little as an hour.
Describe some of the ways you are contributing to sustainability efforts.
We recently announced a broad plastic waste reduction pledge to advance sustainability throughout the company, starting with our Own Brands products by ensuring that 100% of packaging will be recyclable, reusable, or industrially compostable by 2025. We’re excited to have recently launched new compostable and earth-friendly products in our Open Nature brand, including eco picnic items and other compostable offerings for household necessities. Additionally, Safeway has plans to install electric vehicle charging stations at three of our stores in the Fillmore, Mission and Outer Sunset districts.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
We’re working through the permit process to open a new Andronico’s Community Market in the Richmond District. We look forward to the opportunity to provide an upbeat neighborhood hub with unique offerings, including natural groceries, specialty items, and inspired made-from-scratch meals and treats from Andronico’s recipes.
