Just got this news release about members of the Klein family receiving recognition from First Lady Michelle Obama at a White House ceremony on Wednesday for providing access to healthy food:
Andrew Klein, Marshall Klein and New Klein’s ShopRite in Baltimore City Recognized by Michelle Obama as Supporting Access to Healthy Food
Forest Hill, MD, July 21, 2011 – Andrew P. Klein, President of Klein’s ShopRite of Maryland, and Marshall J. Klein, Vice-President of Operations of Klein’s ShopRite, were recognized by First Lady Michelle Obama at a White House ceremony on Wednesday, July 20, celebrating nationwide commitments from major food retailers to open grocery stores that provide healthy, affordable food to millions of people who live in areas that do not presently have easy access to fresh, nutritious food.One of the grocery stores reflecting this initiative is a new Klein’s ShopRite under development in Howard Park in northwest Baltimore, near the intersection of Northern Parkway and Liberty Road, and it was to commemorate the development of that store and more like it across the country that the Kleins and other retailers were honored by Mrs. Obama. “The commitments you are all making today have the potential to be a ‘game-changer’,” said Mrs. Obama, who also stated that “Parents should have fresh food retailers right in their communities — places that sell healthy food at reasonable prices!”“Lack of access to fresh food has been a silent problem for years,” Marshall Klein said at the ceremony. “It is one of the single largest factors determining family health, and the Klein family is excited to be a part of the effort in helping to make a difference,” he added.Across the country, 23.5 million Americans – including 6.5 million children – live in underserved communities that do not have readily obtainable fresh foods at reasonable prices. Mrs. Obama will be making special announcements in support of significant expansion of access to healthy and affordable food in these areas as part of her “Let’s Move” campaign.The new Klein’s ShopRite will be a state-of-the-art grocery store, and will feature several new innovations in healthy foods, including a culturally inspired International Foods department, a health clinic, a social service office, and a fully-staffed pharmacy. It is expected to bring 275 new jobs to its community, while serving a population of 75,000 who live near the store’s location.Klein’s ShopRite of Maryland is headquartered in Forest Hill, Maryland, and currently operates six ShopRite supermarkets in Harford County and one in Baltimore County, Maryland. The family-owned business was founded in 1925 in Fallston, Maryland. Andrew Klein and Marshall Klein are the grandson and great-grandson, respectively, of the original founder, Maurice Klein, and several members of the fourth generation of the Klein family are now involved in operating the family business. Klein’s ShopRite at the Festival at Bel Air recently inaugurated “ShopRite from Home,” the first Harford County-based on-line and phone-in grocery ordering and delivery service.Klein’s ShopRite is a member of the Wakefern Food Corporation, the largest retailer-owned cooperative in the United States. Founded in 1946, the cooperative is comprised of 47 members who today individually own and operate more than 230 supermarkets under the ShopRite banner in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware. As the merchandising and distribution arm of ShopRite, Wakefern, together with its member companies, employ more than 50,000 people. For more information, please visit www.ShopRite.com.
