UNFI Honors Veterans and Their Contributions

November 11, 2024           3 minute read

There are more than 21 million veterans across the United States and Canada who distinguished themselves with their service in one of their country’s military branches. They represent about 6 percent of the population of those two countries. At UNFI, we’re fortunate to count over 3,500 veterans among our associates, representing almost 12 percent of our workforce.

Values and skills honed during their military service have helped make veterans at UNFI a tremendous asset to our organization: a commitment to doing the right thing; a dedication to winning together as a team; and a drive to make themselves, and each other, better every day. And they distinguish themselves every day with their service to our customers, our supplier partners, and their care for their colleagues across the company.

On this Veterans Day, which is known as Remembrance Day in Canada, and throughout the month of November, we are celebrating veterans and their service with multiple events, including:

• Participating in the New York City Veterans Day Parade, expected to draw more than 20,000 marchers.
• Encouraging UNFI associates across the country to participate in the Wounded Warrior Project^® Carry Forward^® 5K.
• Showcasing the impact and contributions that our colleagues who are veterans are making across our company as they help us deliver better food and create a better future.

Through groups like our Veterans Initiative Program Belonging and Innovation Group (VIP BIG), we are committed to creating an inclusive and high performing workplace for veterans. VIP BIG was founded in 2021 and was the first Belonging and Innovation Group created at UNFI. The mission of the VIP BIG is to celebrate our active military members and veterans at UNFI and in our communities, by strengthening our veteran workforce pipeline, providing mentoring, and promoting development opportunities.

U.S. Navy veteran Baker Turner, a Senior Manager for Business Analytics at UNFI and the co-chair of the VIP BIG, says the “VIP BIG leadership strives to be a community that supports a veteran’s transition from the military into the civilian workplace.” He added that “he never wants a veteran to ever feel alone as they reenter the civilian world.”

UNFI’s support of veterans also extends to its supplier base, through our Inclusive Procurement Practices, which includes veteran-owned businesses supplying both goods for resale to UNFI customers as well as services to UNFI directly. Veterans who own a business and want to work with UNFI can register here or contact UNFI at supplierdiversity@unfi.com.