Earth Fare Appoints Chief Medical Officer
Natural and organic food retailer Earth Fare has added to its leadership team Dr. Angela Hind as chief medical officer. In her new role, Hind will work across all departments to implement and oversee a corporate health-and-wellness strategy that fulfills the grocer’s guiding principles of new product selection and merchandising to ensure the healthiest assortment in its stores.
She will also create a customer wellness program to help new and existing shoppers meet specific health objectives; bolster employees’ understanding of health and wellness so they can better educate customers; and develop meaningful, wellness-oriented employee benefits.
“Our country has an unprecedented epidemic of chronic illness from the food we eat,” noted Hind. “Grocery stores have enormous power and responsibility to step up and be part of the solution by providing healthy food to everyone. That is Earth Fare’s mission, and my role as chief medical officer demonstrates Earth Fare’s commitment to being a place of wellness for its customers, its staff and for our society.”
Hind practiced internal medicine for almost 20 years, but, concerned by the rising number of chronic illnesses in her patients, she sought further training in molecular toxicology and functional medicine, with the goal of adopting an integrative approach to prevent and treat disease via diet, toxin avoidance and stress reduction.
“Dr. Hind has made it her life’s work to help Americans improve their health through their food choices. Many conditions can be prevented, treated, or managed with proper nutrition,” said Frank Scorpiniti, president and CEO of Asheville, N.C.-based Earth Fare. “We share this vision, and by having Dr. Hind’s expert medical and nutritional counsel, Earth Fare can continue to improve the health of both our shoppers and our employees, to truly help them ‘Live Longer with Earth Fare.’”
In the past, Hind has consulted with Earth Fare to develop such initiatives as the Clean Pantry Makeover, and contributed to Earth Fare’s in-store magazine The Clean Plate.
Back in 2011, Safeway, now part of Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons, hired Kent Bradley as its first chief medical officer, and Todd Pesek holds that role at Cleveland, Ohio-based Heinens.
Earth Fare operates 50 locations across 10 states in the Southeast, mid-Atlantic, and Midwest.
