FRESH & EASY OPENS FIRST STORES IN BAY AREA

FRESH & EASY OPENS FIRST STORES IN BAY AREA

Expansion Into Northern California Will Create More Than 300 Jobs

SAN JOSE, CA – Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market CEO Tim Mason was joined today by San Jose City Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio, civic and neighborhood leaders and hundreds of customers to celebrate the opening of Fresh & Easy’s first San Jose store – which is also the company’s first in Northern California. Today marked a significant step for Fresh & Easy with its first stores in Northern California. The grocer also opened another Bay Area store in Danville today.

“I'd like to thank Fresh & Easy for opening their first Northern California store here in San Jose,” said San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed. “It’s been a pleasure working with Tim Mason and his team over the past two years and look we forward to helping them open many more new stores throughout the city. We appreciate their investments in San Jose and their commitment to providing fresh and affordable food for our residents.”

Fresh & Easy opened its first stores in November 2007 in Southern California, and has steadily expanded in the state since, moving into Bakersfield in December 2008 and Fresno in January 2010. These openings are the first of more than a dozen Fresh & Easy stores set to open early this year in Northern California, which will create more than 300 jobs with great pay and benefits.

“We opened our first stores in 2007 with the goal of creating a modern, 21st century grocery store,” said Mason. “Fast forward to today, and we have 166 stores and more than 4,500 employees. We know our fresh prepared meals, our less processed foods and our very competitive prices will be very well received by Northern California shoppers. Today marks another significant step for our business and we couldn’t be more excited.”

For each new store opening, Fresh & Easy invites neighbors to nominate a local, non-profit organization to receive a $1,000 donation. Based off the nominations from the neighborhood, store employees selected the following charities this week:

• Sacred Heart Community Service Bird Ave. & Minnesota Ave., San Jose
• Danville Sea Devils Diablo Blvd. & Hwy 680, Danville

“As a Willow Glen native, it is my pleasure to welcome Fresh & Easy to our neighborhood,” shared Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio. “Not only is Willow Glen home to a new grocer, the overall shopping center is gaining a strong anchor tenant which will revitalize the area.”

Entry-level positions start at $10 an hour in California and offer quarterly bonuses of up to 10% as well as a 401(k) with company match. The company believes everyone deserves access to affordable and comprehensive healthcare and provides all employees the opportunity to work at least 20 hours per week, which entitles everyone to vision, prescription drug, dental and medical coverage with Fresh & Easy paying at least 75%.

To learn more about Fresh & Easy, neighbors and customers are invited to join Friends of Fresh & Easy at www.freshandeasy.com/friends. By joining, customers will have access to exclusive offers, the latest news on their favorite products and a free canvas bag.

About Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market

Fresh & Easy operates more than 160 stores in California, Arizona and Nevada. In addition to fresh prepared meals, meats and produce, Fresh & Easy offers everyone’s favorite national brand products and household items, all at unbelievably low prices. The grocer’s popular fresh&easy brand products have no artificial colors or flavors, no added trans fats, no high-fructose corn syrup, and only use preservatives when absolutely necessary.

On average, Fresh & Easy stores use 30% less energy than a typical supermarket, which helps customers save money – and also helps the environment. Fresh & Easy uses LED lighting in external signs and freezer cases, offers customer recycling in every store, and uses advanced refrigeration and freezer units to cut back on energy usage. The company also recycles or reuses all of its display packaging, sending the majority back through its distribution center.

Fresh & Easy is a pilot member of the LEED Volume Certification Program, demonstrating its commitment to build sustainable buildings. The company has also voluntarily joined the California Climate Action Registry and The Climate Registry to disclose its greenhouse gas emissions. At its distribution center in Riverside, the company invested $13 million in a solar roof installation, which at 500,000 square feet is one of California’s largest.

For more information about Fresh & Easy, visit www.freshandeasy.com. Also follow the company on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/fresh_and_easy and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/freshandeasy.

Coalition of 90 Organizations Opposes Subsidies for Corn Ethanol

Coalition of 90 Organizations Opposes Subsidies for Corn Ethanol


WASHINGTON, DC- A coalition of 90 business associations, taxpayer advocates, hunger and development organizations, agricultural groups, free-market groups, religious organizations, environmental groups, budget hawks, and public interest organizations today sent a letter to Congressional leadership urging Congress to let the refundable Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) expire and to resist calls for spending on infrastructure for conventional biofuels.

In the letter, the coalition says:

“The undersigned diverse group of business associations, taxpayer advocates, hunger and development organizations, agricultural groups, free-market groups, religious organizations, environmental groups, budget hawks, and public interest organizations urge you to allow the refundable Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) to sunset this year and to resist calls for spending on infrastructure for conventional biofuels.

“In particular, Congress has the opportunity to end the $6 billion a year subsidy to gasoline refiners who blend corn ethanol into gasoline. At a time of spiraling deficits, we do not believe Congress should continue subsidizing gasoline refiners for something that they are already required to do by the Renewable Fuels Standard.

“Experts like the Congressional Budget Office and the Government Accountability Office have concluded that the subsidy is unnecessary, and leading economists agree that ending it would have little impact on ethanol production, prices or jobs.

“We urge you to let VEETC expire and resist calls for spending on infrastructure for conventional biofuels.”

The following organizations signed the coalition letter:



ActionAid US
Africa Action
Africa Faith and Justice
Alabama Poultry and Egg Association
Alliance of Western Milk Producers
American Bakers Association
American Conservative Union
American Frozen Food Institute
Americans for Limited Government
Americans for Prosperity
American Jewish World Service
American Meat Institute
Beyond Pesticides
California Dairies, Inc.
California Poultry Federation
California Safe Schools
Center for Auto Safety
Center for Biological Diversity
Center for Food Safety
Clean Air Task Force
Clean Water Action
Citizens for Tax Justice
Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach
Competitive Enterprise Institute
Council for Citizens Against Government Waste
Dairy Producers of New Mexico
Dairy Producers of Utah
Environment America
Environmental Working Group
Foreign Policy in Focus
Freedom Action
FreedomWorks
Friends of the Earth
Heartland Institute
Georgia Poultry Federation
Greenpeace USA
Grocery Manufacturers Association
Idaho Dairymen’s Association
Indiana State Poultry Association
International Center for Technology Assessment
International Dairy Foods Association
John Locke Foundation
KyotoUSA
Leadership Conference of Women Religious
League of Conservation Voters
Marynoll Office of Global Concern
Milk Producers Council
Mississippi Poultry Association
MoveOn.org
National Audubon Society
National Catholic Rural Life Conference
National Council of Chain Restaurants
National Chicken Council
National Meat Association
National Restaurant Association
National Retail Federation
National Taxpayers Union
National Turkey Federation
National Wildlife Federation
Natural Resources Defense Council
NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
North Carolina Poultry Federation
Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance
Northeast Organic Farming Association -- Interstate Council (NOFA-IC)
Northwest Environmental Defense Center
Northwest Dairy Association
Oil Change International
Oxfam America
Partners for the Land & Agricultural Needs of Traditional Peoples (PLANT)
The Poultry Federation
Public Citizen
Public Interest Research Group (PIRG)
Safe Climate Campaign
The SafeLawns Foundation
Sierra Club
Snack Food Association
Southeast Milk Inc.
Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
Southern Horticulture
Taxpayers for Common Sense
Tennessee Poultry Association
Texas Poultry Federation
U.S. Poultry and Egg Association
Union of Concerned Scientists
Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth
Virginia Poultry Federation
Washington Cattle Feeders Association
Washington State Dairy Federation
The Watershed Partnership
World Wildlife Fund