Food Lion announces changes to stores in Triangle and beyond

Food Lion announced Tuesday that it is making changes to 162 stores in the Triangle and beyond in an effort to keep up with other grocery stores.

The Salisbury-based company invested $250 million to renovate every store in the region, train and promote employees and offer new products.

It’s the company’s largest single investment ever made, Food Lion President Meg Ham said Tuesday at a press conference at the Food Lion store on Cross Link Road in Southeast Raleigh.

“Raleigh is a really important market to Food Lion, and it’s time to invest in it,” Ham said.

As part of the changes, Food Lion stores in the area now feature sections for gluten-free foods, larger produce sections and more natural and organic choices.

According to Chain Store Guide, a food retailer business guide, Food Lion has the second-highest market share in the Raleigh area, with 19.5 percent. Wal-Mart is first, with 23 percent.

The news is a welcome change in Southeast Raleigh, which has struggled to attract higher-end grocery stores despite an otherwise crowded local grocery market.

Publix opened in Cary earlier this year and expressed interest in several North Raleigh locations. But for the most part, Southeast Raleigh has been left out, aside from a Save-A-Lot discount store that opened in April in a former Kroger space on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Southeast Raleigh has two Food Lion stores, including the one on Cross Link Road.

“I think this shows other groceries that you can be in Southeast Raleigh and be successful,” said Corey Branch, who was recently elected to represent District C on the Raleigh City Council.

Gov. Pat McCrory, who attended the press conference, recalled shopping at Food Lion when he was a student at Catawba College in Salisbury. He said the company’s investments are able to “revive communities.”

“It’s not just about business,” McCrory said. “It’s about giving back to the community.”

Mobile food pantry

On Tuesday, Food Lion also presented a new mobile food pantry to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina that will allow the nonprofit to bring food donations to schools.

In the coming months, the mobile food pantry will support existing pantries in some Durham County schools. The food bank has plans to serve more schools, but details aren’t finalized, said food bank president Peter Werbicki.

Food Lion has long been a partner to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. Last year, the company donated more than 11 million meals to the food bank, Werbicki said.

“We believe that no one should have to choose between dinner and rent and gas and groceries,” Ham said.

This story was originally published October 13, 2015 at 4:03 PM with the headline "Food Lion announces changes to stores in Triangle and beyond."