November/December 2020: A Fresh Prospective
Monica Garnes takes stock of Fry’s Zero Hunger/Zero Waste initiative and being a leader in a tumultuous year
In 1960, Fry’s opened its first grocery store in Phoenix at Seventh Street and Missouri Avenue. Today, Fry’s has 123 locations across Arizona and employs 21,000 people, making it the state’s fifth-largest employer. But for all its success, no one could have predicted how the supermarket chain would be celebrating its 60th anniversary this year.
New sanitizing protocols, special shopping hours for seniors, supply chain challenges, employees acknowledged as “essential workers” in the state’s economy — Fry’s has remained nimble throughout the many months of the COVID-19 pandemic, providing some stability for its communities in these challenging times.
“I think about the amazing responsibility we have to ensure that people have food on their tables,” said Monica Garnes, the president of Fry’s Food Stores. “We have found a way to adjust to the new normal and still show up in ways that everyone needs us to show up.”
Garnes became president of Fry’s in 2018, but, in many ways, she’s trained her whole life for this moment. A native of Columbus, Ohio, she received a scholarship to the University of Rhode Island, where she was a four-year starter, and two-year captain, of the university’s women’s basketball team. After earning a degree in business management, Garnes moved back to Columbus and started working for The Kroger Co. in its management training program.
Since then, over the last 25 years, she’s had almost every job in the grocery field and at the corporate office. Store manager, human resource coordinator, produce buyer, public affairs/media relations manager, district manager, and produce manager — Garnes has done it all. She served as VP of merchandising for Fry’s Food Stores in Phoenix and corporate VP of produce and floral merchandise in Cincinnati, Ohio. “I’ve had numerous careers inside of the Kroger families and great mentors along the way,” she said.
Speaking of mentors, Garnes takes her role as mentor seriously and encourages others to consider working in a field that she concedes isn’t exactly the sexiest.
“We have doctors who work for Fry’s and Kroger. We have engineers, food technology people, you name it,” she said. “If you’re not afraid of new opportunities and pushing yourself outside your comfort zone, the sky’s the limit in terms of potential roles you can have within our company.”
Another perk of working at Fry’s? A chance to take on huge societal problems — namely, food insecurity and food waste. There’s a fundamental absurdity baked into the grocery business. One in eight Americans struggles with hunger. Yet, 40 percent of food produced in the U.S. is thrown away. Fry’s is working to end hunger in our community by 2025 through its Zero Hunger / Zero Waste initiative, which was introduced three years ago.
Through campaigns, food drives and their Food Rescue program, Fry’s donated more than 11 million meals to hungry families in 2019. “Whether it’s rescuing healthy, nutritious food from our stores that typically may have been thrown out, or donating items that have damaged packaging, like a dented can, and through food drives, we’re able to partner with food banks and feed families,” Garnes said.
On the flip-side is waste, which Fry’s is also working to address. “We’ve diverted 69 percent of our food waste from landfills, sending it to livestock feeding or composting programs,” Garnes said. Fry’s has also made a big push on recycling, with nearly 90 million pounds of cardboard and plastics recycled last year.
“The thing that has evolved since I started with the company is finding great partnerships to be able to divert food that may have been wasted in the past,” Garnes said.
Those partners appreciate Fry’s efforts. “Fry’s is an integral part of the Arizona community and deserves the highest praise,” said Todd Cooley, manager of corporate development at St. Vincent de Paul. “Fry’s Zero Hunger / Zero Waste initiative aligns so well with SVdP’s Feed. Clothe. House. Heal. mission and, because of that, together we can make a difference.”
Garnes’s task, then, is to amass a team with the spirit to push hard to meet some audacious goals. “How do we think about eliminating hunger in the communities that we call home, for Fry’s and the entire Kroger family of stores, and also eliminating waste in our company by 2025?” she asked.
Of course, the pandemic hasn’t made those goals easier. COVID has ushered in a slew of changes that makes feeding the community and combating hunger more critical, while also making it more challenging. “A top priority for us is the safety of our associates and our customers. So we have looked for ways to create the safest space for associates to work and for customers to shop,” Garnes said. “Along the way, it’s meant simplifying processes, removing layers and being able to move at a speed that we may never have thought possible in the past.”
Of course, all of those changes have meant added stress and Garnes says they’re all trying to adjust. “I think about our associates who have been doing amazing work in our stores. And then let’s add on the fact that they may now be homeschooling children,” she said. “We are trying to find the balance of supporting people for what they need, not only professionally here at Fry’s, but in their personal lives as well.”
It’s a balancing act Garnes is attempting herself. A huge sports fan, Garnes would typically be supporting the Phoenix Mercury, cheering on college football, traveling and dining out with friends. But this year, she’s spending her spare time more contemplatively. “I’ve had more time to read, and I’ve started meditating throughout COVID. I call it the calm in the chaos,” she said.
As role model, mentor and supporter, Garnes has striven to project that calm in this most chaotic of years. She’s worked to create an environment where people can be their best, while allowing and addressing vulnerability in the workplace. “I pride myself on listening to ideas and opinions, creating an environment where all feel valued and respected, so people don’t have that fear of failure,” she said.
Bringing her whole, authentic self to the workplace is vital to Garnes. As a Black woman, she takes representation seriously. “The more that you can see people who look like you achieving success, the more it makes you feel that anything’s possible,” she said. “I represent myself and people of color with pride and believe I have a responsibility to help our organization — not just at Fry’s, but at Kroger — to ensure that we’re creating an inclusive and diverse environment for all associates and customers.”
Over the past few months, she has been moved by the remarkable ways the community has come together at Fry’s. Team members supporting each other. Customers marching through stores with signs saying, “Thank you!” “It’s been amazing,” she said. “Our purpose is to feed the human spirit and it’s been an uplifting journey to be involved in leading such an amazing group of associates that have stepped up and cared for our communities day after day.”
Birthdays, weddings, funerals, graduations — most of life’s milestones involve food. So as the holidays near, Garnes knows Fry’s will be part of celebrating cherished traditions, and also making new ones. Her mom, dad and brother still live in Columbus, while her sister lives in New York. Over the holidays, they come together — sometimes in Arizona, sometimes in Ohio. “It’s the fun of being together, sharing our favorite foods, being grateful and saying prayers prior to eating for all the blessings we have in our lives,” she said.
This year, as it celebrates its 60th anniversary, Fry’s is especially honored to serve the community. Many families that typically would go away for Thanksgiving, Hanukkah or Christmas will be starting new traditions. “Fry’s is going to be here for you,” Garnes said. “As people are looking for normalcy during unprecedented times, your local grocery store is as normal as it gets. Being able to see your regular associates that wait on you, or friends in your community — we are honored that we can be a stable force for the community.”
