SALISBURY – Food Lion last week unveiled a new shopping experience for customers in 93 stores, including the three in Davie County.

The company made a $178 million capital investment in the market this year, which includes remodeling the stores, hiring additional associates and giving back to local communities.

“Food Lion has been a proud neighbor in the greater Greensboro community since 1968, and we’re excited to bring these improvements to our 93 stores in the area,” said Meg Ham, president of Food Lion.

“We’ve spent the past several months making significant investments in our stores, customers, associates and communities to create a new grocery shopping experience. Now, customers can easily find fresh, quality products at affordable prices to nourish their families, delivered with caring, friendly service every time they shop.

“As Food Lion celebrates our 60th anniversary this year, we invite everyone to come out and experience the fresh, new changes we’ve made in order to deliver the products and services our customers expect.”

Among the changes customers will see:

• Fully remodeled stores with like products grouping, new signage to help locate items, and a more efficient checkout process;

• Expanded variety relevant to customers in each store, such as more local produce, craft beer, and natural and organic selections;

• Hiring more than 1,000 associates throughout the region and investing in additional customer-centric training for nearly 7,000 associates in the market.

“With every change we make, we always have our customers at heart,” said Ham. “That’s why we not only invested in our stores, we also invested in promoting great associates and hiring promising new talent. It’s also why, as part of our grand re-opening celebrations, we’re partnering again with Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest N.C. to help end hunger in the towns and cities we serve. Giving back to our communities is something we’re just as passionate about as serving our customers every day in our stores.”

Consistent with Food Lion’s focus on eliminating hunger in its local communities through Food Lion Feeds, the grocer has donated a mobile food pantry, valued at more than $100,000, or the equivalent of more than 700,000 meals, to Second Harvest. The innovative vehicle will bring food to places where there is a need throughout the 18 counties served by the food bank, from schools, to disaster locations, to communities without access to fresh, healthy food.

“We are beyond grateful for the Food Lion Feeds initiative, a deep and focused partnership that continues to bring critical resources to Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC and the work we are doing to make our communities healthy and hunger free,” said Clyde W. Fitzgerald Jr., CEO for Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC. “This mobile pantry will allow us to work more deeply with neighbors and neighborhoods across the 18-counties we serve to provide increased access to healthy food, nutrition programs and other services.”

The mobile pantry donation is part of the grocer’s commitment to provide 500 million meals to individuals and families in need by the end of 2020 through Food Lion Feeds.

Food Lion expanded its product selection in stores by adding fresh meat and produce backed by Food Lion’s double-your-money-back guarantee, increasing gluten-free and organic items and growing its selection of Nature’s Place beef, pork, poultry, salads, fruit and bakery items, free from unwanted ingredients. Customers can buy local products from the “local goodness” section and have an expanded variety of craft beers, limited edition wines and much more.

Food Lion has added meals for families, including weekend deals from Friday to Sunday and hot meals with sides available seven days a week. The grocer has 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.

With the completion of this market, Food Lion has remodeled 473 of its 1,000 stores, mostly in North Carolina. Later this year, the company will complete 71 store remodels in the Richmond, Va., market. Food Lion will continue to make customer-centric enhancements and remodel stores in other markets.