Last month Food Lion completed a $212.5 million investment to remodel 112 stores across Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. With the completion of this project, Food Lion has now completed upgrading more than 90 percent of its store base of more than 1,000 units in 10 states. Of the 112 remodeled units, 52 are in Maryland, 27 are in Virginia, 19 in Delaware, 10 in West Virginia and three in Pennsylvania.

The Salisbury, NC-based Ahold Delhaize USA brand also hired more than 2,300 associates as part of the store revampment plan. According to an economic impact study done by Towson University’s Regional Economic Studies Institute (RESI), the store improvement effort will generate $360 million in economic impact across the 112 Mid-Atlantic towns and cities these Food Lion stores serve. In addition to the added jobs and economic impact, Food Lion’s remodels are expected to boost state and local tax revenues by $40 million across the five states.

“Nourishing our neighbors in the towns and cities we serve is core to everything we do, and we’re excited to welcome customers to their fresh, new Food Lion,” said Meg Ham, president of Food Lion. “Neighbors, many who have shopped in their local Food Lion for decades, are now able to enjoy a new grocery shopping experience through the significant investments in our stores, associates and communities. From our expanded variety and product assortment, to a more efficient check-out experience, every change we’ve made will make it easier for our customers to find the quality products they have come to expect from Food Lion. When coupled with our everyday low prices and weekly sales and promotions, customers will see that we have made it easier for them to nourish their families with everything they need on a budget.”

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Among the changes customers will see:

  • Expanded variety and assortment across all departments relevant to its customers in each store.
  • More local items in its “Local Goodness” section.
  • An expanded variety of craft beer and limited reserve wines.
  • More natural, organic and gluten-free items.
  • An abundant selection of fresh produce and meat backed by Food Lion’s double-your-money-back guarantee and a larger selection of Nature’s Promise beef, pork, poultry, milk, eggs, bottled water, cereal, coffee and other items.
  • A greater selection of easy and affordable meals for families and a wider variety of grab-and-go items and pre-sliced deli meats and cheeses, which are sliced fresh daily and available for customers to pick up without waiting in line.
  • A more efficient checkout process.
  • Fully-remodeled stores featuring new signage and groupings of like products, to make it easier to locate items faster.
  • Additional safety equipment and protocols to provide a safe and clean environment
  • Approximately 40 percent of these remodeled stores now offer Food Lion To Go, Food Lion’s grocery pickup service. The convenient service allows customers to place an order and pick up their groceries on the same day.

Additionally, many of these stores offer home delivery to allow customers to have their Food Lion groceries delivered to their doorstep in as little as an hour.

Also, consistent with Food Lion’s focus on fighting hunger in its local communities through Food Lion Feeds, the retailer has made considerable donations to local Feeding America member food bank partners in the region, including $100,000 to the Maryland Food Bank to sponsor the Supporting Wellness At Pantries (SWAP) Initiative to educate food donors, food bank partner agencies, and clients on the importance of good nutrition; $75,000 to the Food Bank of Delaware to purchase a refrigerated truck and food to for mobile market distributions to meet increased needs; and $60,000 to the Capital Area Food Bank to purchase food for mobile market distributions.

Additionally, Food Lion Feeds is donating $1,000 to every feeding agency that picks up food rescue product from each of these 112 stores, for an additional $112,000 in donations. This support is in addition to ongoing support these local organizations have received from Food Lion Feeds through other product, monetary, equipment and volunteer donations.

The 112-store remodeling effort encompasses more than 10 percent of the company store base. Food Lion began its “Easy Fresh & Affordable” rebranding/remodeling program in 2014 with the upgrade of 76 stores in the Greenville/Wilmington NC market. n markets closest to Baltimore-Washington, Food Lion refurbished 71 stores in the greater Richmond market at a cost of $110 million in 2017. A year later, it refreshed 105 stores in the Hampton Roads region at a cost of $178, and in 2019 the discount chain spent $40 million to improve its 23 stores in the Charlottesville/Harrisonburg area of Virginia.

All told, over the past six years, Food Lion has remodeled nearly 950 stores at a cost of more than $2.1 billion.