Tag: food crisis

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Grocery Outlet to close dozens of ‘underperforming’ stores

By Aidin Vaziri : sfchronicle – excerpt

Grocery Outlet, the Emeryville-based discount grocer with a large Northern California footprint, said it plans to close 36 financially underperforming stores as it tries to improve profitability after reporting a steep quarterly loss.

The closures are part of a business “Optimization Plan” adopted by the company’s board on Monday and expected to be “substantially completed during fiscal 2026,” Grocery Outlet said in a news release Wednesday announcing fourth-quarter and full-year financial results.

“We made progress on our strategic priorities in 2025; however, our fourth-quarter results made clear that we have more work to do, and we’re moving quickly,” Jason Potter, the company’s president and chief executive, said in a statement. “At the same time, we’re closing underperforming stores, reshaping our new store growth strategy and reallocating resources to strengthen operating results and returns on capital. ”

Grocery Outlet did not disclose which locations will be shuttered. The company, which has stores nationwide, also did not specify how many of the 36 stores are in California or the Bay Area.

Grocery Dive, an industry publication, reported that 24 of the stores slated to close are on the East Coast, citing Potter’s remarks to investors…

The company attributed some of the pressure to the timing of government assistance. Comparable sales were hurt by delayed disbursements from “federally funded assistance programs that many of our customers depend on, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,” the company said.

MarketWatch reported the company’s stock fell about 24% in after-hours trading following the announcement.…(more)

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Iconic Calif. cannery bankruptcy leaves hundreds laid off and $550M in farm losses

Re-Zoning is going to create a food shortage as agricultural land is now non-agricultural land, and water sources for farmers are not secure, thank to the state water board run by the Governor, farmers are not willing to continue takin on more debt in definitely. How much longer will California be able to claim it has the fourth large world economy when we are losing our food and wine industries that accounts for a huge percentage of the exports. We don’t so far hear anything about his from the candidaates for governor or Congress. All we hear is their opinions on AI and tech, and concerns over the high cost of housing and energy in California. Who is raising alarms about the loss of food production and the closure of supermarkets?

 

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Facing ‘dire water shortages,’ California bans Delta pumping

By Rachel Becker, calmatters : sfexaminer – excerpt

In an aggressive move to address “immediate and dire water shortages,” California’s water board this week unanimously approved emergency regulations to temporarily stop thousands of farmers, landowners and others from diverting water from from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed…

The new regulations — the first to take such widespread action for the massive Delta watershed stretching from Fresno to the border with Oregon — could lead to formal curtailment orders for about 5,700 water rights holders as soon as Aug. 16. The decision comes on the heels of curtailment orders issued to nearly 900 water users along the drought-stricken Russian River, with 222 more expected next week.

The five water board members, who were appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom or former Gov Jerry Brown, approved the rule despite vehement opposition from representatives of Central Valley growers.

Sen. Shannon Grove, a Republican from Bakersfield, said the regulation would “disrupt the critical production of essential food…Instead, the state should focus on expanding water storage and upgrading its existing water infrastructure, not punish local water managers.”

Assemblymember Adam Gray, a Democrat from Merced, called the curtailment orders for senior water rights holders “one of the most destructive measures possible.”

“The Board’s legal authority is by no means certain,” Gray wrote to the board. “Growers will have to risk significant fines and penalties just to find out whether the Board actually has the authority it claims. Either way, they lose.”…

Dwindling flows risk salty backwash from the Pacific tainting supplies for drinking, farmers and fish…

It’s just too fast, you’ve got to listen to stakeholders in this process,” said Valerie Kincaid, a water law attorney who represents the San Joaquin Tributaries Authority, a coalition of irrigation districts and water agencies. “We now have a draft regulation that exceeds water board authority.”…(more)