GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Two new supercenters have bolstered Meijer’s Northeast Ohio footprint, growing the retailer's network with new state-of-the-art, 159,000-square-foot supercenters in Alliance and North Canton.

"We're thankful for the energy and enthusiasm from our team members, who have worked so hard to prepare these new stores for opening," President and Chief Executive Officer Rick Keyes said. "We're honored to welcome customers through our doors in North Canton and Alliance, and we are excited to serve these wonderful communities."

Similar to Meijer’s entire store footprint, the new supercenters will offer more than 600 varieties of farm-fresh produce, 150 USDA-certified organic items, as well as a floral and deli and meat department, as well.

"As we celebrate our 90^th anniversary as a family-owned retailer, providing value and convenience to our customers is still our top priority," Executive Chairman Hank Meijer said. "We're excited to bring our unique shopping experience to customers in North Canton and Alliance while also investing in these communities."

Meijer opened its first store in Ohio in 1981, according to a press release. By the end of 2025, the chain will have invested roughly half a billion dollars into its growth in the region, remodeling nearly 20 locations and contributing to various organizations in the community.

More information on the store’s features, as well as the retailer’s Northeast Ohio community impact, can be found here.

ANUK will report on the next expansion play from this company and more, so stay tuned.

GOODLETTSVILLE, TN - Make way for a new executive coming through! We recently learned that Dollar General Corporation has named Lee DeVille as its new Senior Vice President of Store Operations. DeVille will lead operations for three retail divisions, representing nearly 7,000 stores across the country.

Prior to joining Dollar General, DeVille served as SVP of Operations at Advantage Solutions, leading the company’s strategy and execution in the fulfillment, logistics, and business services areas. According to a press release, his role focused on supporting and growing sales for retailers and consumer packaged goods.

A retail industry veteran, DeVille also previously served as Vice President of Operations for Save-a-Lot, leading field operations for all corporate stores, as well as the retail support and continuous improvement teams. He also served in roles of increasing responsibility at Walmart, including field store operations, fresh implementation, innovations, safety, and asset protection over an 18-year tenure.

DeVille earned his Bachelor of Science in finance and multinational business from Florida State University.

“With more than 25 years of leadership experience in driving retail excellence, Lee brings a wealth of operational expertise with his customer-centric approach and focus on process improvement,” said Steve Deckard, Executive Vice President of Store Operations and Development. “We look forward to Lee being a strong addition to our store operations leadership team as we remain focused on getting Back to Basics.”

Congratulations to Lee DeVille!

SOLEDAD, CA - Not one, not two, but three new awards were recently secured by Braga Fresh. These key recognitions, highlighting Braga’s organic farming, safety, and leadership efforts, come just as the grower enters the spring Salinas Valley season.

“Receiving three awards is an honor,” said Tatiana Briggs, Brand Marketing Lead. “We appreciate being recognized for the passion we share for organic farming and California agriculture. We will continue the leadership trajectory in how we approach our everyday work.”

First, Chief Executive Officer Rod Braga received the 2023 Organic Grower of the Year award from the Organic Produce Network and Western Growers. The company credited the award to all of the Braga team members and the Braga family of companies.

In February, Alfonso Orozco, Director of Safety, was also awarded, named the national 2024 Outstanding Safety Professional of the Year by AgSafe Food and Farms. According to a press release, this is an annual award that identifies the best of the best worker safety professionals across food and farming industries.

Last but certainly not least, Colby Pereira, Chief Operating Officer, received the Grower-Shipper Foundation Ag Woman of the Year award earlier this month. She was awarded for demonstrating a significant contribution to agriculture, being a leader in the community and an “Ag-Vocate” for agriculture.

Congratulations to these three Braga Fresh leaders!

SAN JOSE, CA - Cybersecurity is a journey, not a destination. I love this wisdom from Greg Gatzke, President of ZAG Technical Services. We are living in a time of rapid change across our industry’s technological landscape and having an advocate in this space is more essential than ever.

“Cyber threats are becoming more sophisticated, and they can have devastating consequences on operations, reputations, and bottom lines,” Greg shares. “Fresh produce companies need to be proactive, and we are here to help them and provide a map forward.”

In this case, that map is a checklist.

As Greg puts it, you can turn checklists into action and empower your technology to ensure business resilience.

“It is imperative that organizations identify vulnerabilities and prepare for potential threats while aligning cybersecurity measures with the unique needs of each business and the changing landscape of agriculture and the food business,” Greg reflects. “There are a lot of checklists with steps for improving cybersecurity health, but we want to help ag professionals understand why those steps are important and how planning for them is strategic as well as tactical.”

With this in mind, Greg and the ZAG Technical Services team have built a checklist of questions and concerns to address as companies look to their own vulnerabilities and preparedness.

Understand Your Current Cybersecurity Position

Before you can effectively strengthen, get a clear picture of where you stand. Start with these key questions:

What is your current cybersecurity situation?

Running an annual cybersecurity assessment is as important as understanding the security measures you currently have in place. Cybersecurity assessments help identify vulnerabilities present in your systems and are crucial to knowing where you stand.

Who has access to your network and data?

Scrutinize who currently has access to your systems and data. This includes both internal personnel, external vendors, and supply chain partners. Be sure to keep access permissions current and updated.

What data do we need to protect?

This includes everything from field and plant data to supplier and customer information to employee records and proprietary business data. Understanding what needs protection is the first step in building a robust cybersecurity strategy.

Have you experienced any security incidents in the past?

Analyzing past incidents can provide valuable lessons for improving your security posture. Understand what happened, where the vulnerabilities were, and how to prevent a similar incident in the future.

Key Questions for Advancing Your Cybersecurity Strategy

Once you have a baseline understanding of your current position, ask yourself the following questions to pinpoint areas for enhancement, and begin to develop a correction strategy:

What are your most valuable IT assets and data, and do we currently protect them sufficiently?

Determine which systems, services, equipment, programs, apps, data, or other assets are critical to your business operations and what impact their loss or compromise would have.

• Are your firewalls, antivirus software, and encryption methods up to date?
• How do you control access to sensitive information and systems?
• How often do you train your staff on cybersecurity threats?

What are the potential threats and vulnerabilities?


Understand there are internal and external threats, from employee error or malicious insider activities to hackers, phishing scams, and ransomware attacks. Regularly updating this analysis will help you stay ahead of new risks as they emerge.

What is our strategy for updating and maintaining our cybersecurity defenses?


How will you keep your cybersecurity measures up to date with the latest technologies and threat information? This includes scheduling updates, patches to software, cybersecurity assessments, and reassessing your cybersecurity framework regularly.

What third-party services do we use, and how secure are they?


Third-party services can introduce vulnerabilities to your organization. It’s advised to inquire about the security measures of any third-party providers and ensure they meet your cybersecurity standards.

As Greg reminds me, cybersecurity is not a one-and-done solution—it is a journey and not a destination.

“Threats continually change and require ongoing review and maintenance to keep systems secure. If your plan is based on what your company is already doing and where it stands, you can set up defenses that are customized and proactive rather than scrambling to plug exposed holes,” he says. “Understanding the answers to these questions is a great starting point for any agriculture company to develop a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy.”

Turn this checklist into a strategy, and maybe sleep just a little bit better at night.