October 14, 2022 – At Ahold Delhaize and our great local brands, we believe in the importance of celebrating the cultures, traditions and heritage that make each of us unique. From September 15 to October 15, our U.S. brands honored National Hispanic Heritage Month by celebrating the contributions of Hispanic and Latino people in the United States and those American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and South America.
To recognize this special and important time of year, our brands arranged several initiatives such as hosting live cooking events; sponsoring block parties; arranging store and facility food samples so associates and customers could experience a taste of unique flavors from Hispanic cultures; creating web pages that showcased vendors and recipes to inspire meal plans, while teaching customers more about the cultures that inspired the food; trivia questions; several speaking opportunities and many associate stories that evoke both pride and resilience.
Below, some Hannaford associates shared brave and honest responses when they were asked, what does National Hispanic Heritage Month (NHHM) mean to you?
Franca Cassinari Associate Relations Manager: NHHM is important to me because it speaks to me. The tradition, the culture, the food are the things my parents passed on to me—breaking bread with people, getting to know them over food or even coffee. That is so important to do. Hannaford does a great job celebrating our cultural differences by allowing us to have conversations with people while sharing our traditions, views and ideas. As an associate relations manager, I pay attention to how people celebrate holidays with their traditions; it really speaks to what’s important to them.
Olhae Cosh, Regional Marketing Specialist, Mosaic BRG Co-Chair: NHHM means teaching my kids to love their tanned skin. I tell them the sun loves them so much that it can’t stop kissing them. It means reading books that reaffirm the beauty of curly, brown hair. It means my kids walking into the kitchen as I just finished adding sofrito to the pot. Hispanic culture and the Spanish language are beautiful and warm and kind and colorful. NHHM is a great opportunity to incorporate new learnings, new books, new role models and new music.
Roberto Diaz Hernandez, Hannaford Store Manager: Celebrating our Latin heritage is very important to me because I was born in Puerto Rico where we are very committed to each other and our community. I hope National Hispanic Heritage Month gives our associates the opportunity to learn more about our diverse culture and the loving people we are, and how compassionate and caring we are.