LOS ANGELES, Aug. 2, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Unified Grocers, the largest wholesale grocery distributor in the western United States, is providing 57 high school students an opportunity to learn how the supermarket industry works while participating in the Company's sixteenth annual Summer Youth Employment Program.
The students, 32 from the Los Angeles metropolitan area, 7 from Northern California (Livermore and Stockton area), 9 from Portland, Oregon and 9 from Seattle, Washington are either attending or are recent graduates of local high schools. They were selected for the program after completing an extensive application and interview process.
Unified's Summer Youth Employment Program is designed to give the students an understanding of the grocery industry, teach them how corporations function, and develop job skills while working in various departments throughout the Company. During the seven-week program (June 27 through Aug. 12), the students' activities include hands-on instructional presentations, visits to retail grocery stores, and tours of food manufacturing facilities operating in their local communities.
Al Plamann, Chief Executive Officer, Unified Grocers, said, "Our Summer Youth Employment Program has continued to flourish over the years because of the valuable learning experience it provides to everyone involved. In addition to the students learning, our Company's employees and management greatly benefit from the interaction and fresh ideas that these bright and talented students bring to our organization."
Unified's Summer Youth Employment Program students also have an opportunity to win scholarships to help further their education. The scholarship winners are announced at graduation ceremonies held in each region at the conclusion of the program.
About Unified Grocers, Inc.
Founded in 1922, Unified Grocers is a retailer-owned wholesale grocery distributor that supplies independent retailers throughout the western United States. Unified and its subsidiaries, which generated approximately $4 billion in sales during fiscal 2010, offer independent retailers all the resources they need to compete in the supermarket industry.
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Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements about the future performance of Unified Grocers based on Management's assumptions and beliefs in light of information currently available to it. There are a variety of factors that could cause actual and future results to differ materially from those anticipated by the statements made above. These factors are outlined in the Company's Form 10-K and other interim reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Furthermore, Unified undertakes no obligation to update, amend or clarify forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.