Better for Our Communities

Food is core to people's health and vitality. We have always believed that through better food choices, we can build a better future. This core belief guides the way we run our company. Our scale allows us to have a positive impact on the world—making better food options more accessible to more people in partnership with our suppliers. We endeavor to work with vendors and suppliers who share our core values and desire to build a better, more equitable food system.

Our Approach

Delivering a safe and nutritious food supply, ensuring sufficient food for people in low-income communities and vulnerable situations:

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    Access to Better Food

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    Product Labeling & Transparency

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    Food Safety

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    Supplier Diversity

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    Animal Welfare

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    Sustainable Agriculture

Access to Better Food

Farmer Hold Tomatoes

Delivering safe, nutritious food to people in low-income communities, rural areas and vulnerable situations. Working with our customers to educate consumers on healthier food choices. Building better food systems and nurturing everyday health through UNFI Foundation grants to nonprofits.

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Product Labeling & Transparency

Two farmers talking about crops

Providing consumers with the freedom of food choice through transparent labeling of nutrition, quality and ingredient information. We expect our suppliers to continuously monitor, evaluate and improve their environmental and social performance, including GHG emissions reduction, water stewardship, animal welfare, and human rights in their supply chains.

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Food Safety

Worker sorting cherry tomatoes

Ensuring safe, quality foods through best-in-class food safety practices in our wholesale distribution, private brands, manufacturing and retail grocery businesses. We pursue SQF (Safe Quality Foods) certification in all of our distribution centers and a “Green” Ecolab Retail audit rating in all retail stores to ensure that product is handled according to the highest standards of food safety.

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Supplier Diversity

Woman working

Developing, fostering, and retaining relationships with diverse businesses owned by minorities, women, veterans (and service-disabled veterans), and members of the LGBTQ community. Providing these suppliers with opportunities to offer quality, innovative, competitive, and cost-effective products and services to our supply chain. Helping our customers to achieve their own supplier diversity goals.

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Animal Welfare

Cow eating grass

Standing behind the internationally accepted Five Freedoms for animals, with the expectation that our suppliers do the same:

  1. Freedom from hunger and thirst
  2. Freedom from discomfort
  3. Freedom from pain, injury or disease
  4. Freedom to express normal behavior
  5. Freedom from fear and distress

Partnering with leading NGOs to ensure that seafood products comes from sustainable and responsible sources.

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Sustainable Agriculture

Greenhouse with plants growing

Promoting the use of organic and regenerative growing practices to build healthy soil, produce nutritious food and reduce negative environmental impacts from agriculture.

  • Nearly 150,000 acres of organic farmland created through UNFI Foundation grants in 2019.
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