The GIANT Company

Please join us in congratulating Jennifer Scott, MBA, who has been named vice president of human resources! “Since joining The GIANT Company in 2016, Jen has made numerous contributions to our business and has played an integral role in driving our strategy forward,” said John Ruane, president, The GIANT Company. “A passionate leader with a deep understanding of the pivotal role human resources plays in shaping an organization’s culture, developing talent, and driving success, I know she’ll continue to positively impact our team and overall business in her new role.”

Today on Meet a Team Member Monday, we’d like to introduce you to Valerie Harris, assistant store manager of fresh at our Huntingdon, Pa. store! Val has been with The GIANT Company, working at both MARTIN’S and GIANT stores, in a variety of roles since 2010. She began her journey as a part-time produce team member. Soon after, she was promoted to assistant produce manager, and after a few years, became produce manager. From there, Val was excited to be accepted into our assistant store manager training program and served as the assistant store manager of center store. Now she’s managing all things fresh at the GIANT in Huntingdon! Val wants her journey to inspire others to go for their goals, saying: “If you put in the effort and show that you care, you can absolutely succeed at The GIANT Company, and anywhere. I am a prime example of that. From part-time produce team member to salaried manager. Anything is possible!” Val is well known for genuinely caring for everyone around her. She’s described as an empathetic, positive, energetic leader and team player, always willing to help out other departments. Because of her kind-heartedness, it’s easy to understand why her favorite part of the job is interacting with her coworkers and customers. “I love hearing about their hobbies and passions and learning about their experiences,” she says. “Unique perspectives can bring fresh ideas into the workplace, so I especially enjoy engaging with our team.” She cares for people and the planet – and appreciates The GIANT Company’s dedication to healing our planet, so much so that she’s taken on the role of Green Team Captain for half of her region. “I am excited to be able to make an impact on our reduction of food waste and zero waste efforts,” Val shares. “I enjoy visiting stores to ensure they are using best practices for food waste and recycling; this work makes a difference now and will into the future, too.” Thank you, Val, for everything you do!

Today, on Women's Equality Day, The GIANT Company honors the courageous women who came before us and those who continue the work to build a more inclusive and equitable world for women and girls.

Supplier diversity drives innovation, supports economic growth and job creation in communities that are often overlooked, and helps businesses like ours meet the unique needs of the customers we serve. If you’re a certified, diverse-owned CPG business looking to work with The GIANT Company, we’d love to hear more. Apply to our Supplier Diversity Matchmaking Program, offered in partnership with ECRM and RangeMe, today: https://lnkd.in/dwC7mdGH

Fall vibes are here! 🎃🍂 Find all things pumpkin spiced, caramel apple, and other seasonal goodies, including your favorite robot, in stores now!

Please join us in congratulating Rebecca Lupfer, who has been named senior vice president and chief merchant!    “With nearly 20 years of retail grocery experience spanning nearly all areas of the business, Rebecca brings a tremendous amount of expertise to the table as well as an incredible passion for building strong teams that deliver results,” said John Ruane, president, The GIANT Company. “With her strong knowledge of our business, team, and customers, I know The GIANT Company will continue to be the grocery store of choice for customers and team members alike.” 

It feels like just yesterday we were posting about the start of our 2024 Summer Internship Program. And now, we’re here: having celebrated our interns for a job well done! Last week, we were inspired by our summer interns’ innovation, collaboration, and leadership skills, which were evident during their final team project presentations. We recognized these hardworking individuals with a graduation luncheon, where The GIANT Company leaders commended them for embracing opportunities to make a difference for our team members, partners, and customers. Thank you to recruitment specialist and intern alum, Kegan Pontius, the whole talent and culture team, and all team members who served as supervisors for our interns – without you, this program wouldn’t be successful. We wish our 2024 summer interns the best and can’t wait to see what your futures hold!

We love to see our team members having fun at work! So much so that one of our core values is humor. Watch GIANT store manager Jamie Bennett celebrate #TellAJokeDay with some incredible dad jokes. 😅

As students get ready to head back-to-school, their focus should be on learning, not wondering where their next meal is coming from. This is why The GIANT Company joined Kellanova today to donate $20,000 and a tractor trailer full of nutritious food to the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank. And with a little help from Snap, Crackle and Pop, the teams packed nearly 300 food boxes for families facing food insecurity in Central Pennsylvania. #BackToSchool #MakingADifference #EliminatingHunger #BetterDays

For today’s Meet a Team Member Monday, we’re featuring Aaron Abrams III, store manager at the GIANT store on Columbus Boulevard in Philadelphia. Aaron’s been a team member with The GIANT Company for nearly 23 years, and to him, his days continue to be exciting and rewarding. He says, “Being a store manager is like performing something completely different every day, so I like to joke and say that I have performed over 8,000 roles since I have been with The GIANT Company.” Aaron finds his role rewarding for many reasons, but he feels pride training and mentoring team members to help them be successful with the company and enjoy their work. In recent years, five store managers in the Philadelphia region were once on Aaron’s team. He beams, “It gives me a sense of pride to see those who I have mentored flourish and have successful careers throughout the company.” Over his more than two decades with the company, he has worked in multiple roles. As assistant store manager of fresh, he served as a trainer, focused on teaching and supporting newly promoted team members. As store manager, he feels that his role is like an “incubator – nurturing and caring for my team.” He also recognizes that professional development support from the company is what helped him thrive in the industry. Aaron was honored to have been selected to participate in a 22-month rotation with the human resources department for a developmental role for high performers; he says it taught him different areas of the business and perspectives, which he now uses in his day to day. Aaron’s well known for his positivity and smile that can cheer up anyone on a bad day. He works to improve lives around him and cares wholeheartedly about his community. He has an active role at his church and other nonprofit organizations and is passionate about serving families in greater Philadelphia. “I’ve seen neighborhoods in the region that traditionally have not had great access to healthy foods, ones where families have been food insecure,” Aaron says. “GIANT’s partnerships with charitable food organizations like Philabundance as well as the Philadelphia Public School System let me know that I work for a company that is committed to helping people the same way that I am. It makes me feel so proud to be part of the team.”