diversity, equity, & inclusion

The intentional move to expand into a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practice is an indication of the education our organization continues to go through. We're explicitly naming 'equity' to hold ourselves accountable to what we're working toward, rather than what we’ve already done.

How is this better for all?
OUR PEOPLE

Creating equal opportunity for everyone, regardless of background or identity, with more professional opportunities across the board, builds trust and a more respectful, agile workforce.

OUR COMMUNITIES

By addressing systemic inequities and creating a sense of belonging which helps people to focus on developing other spheres of their lives, we support communities as a whole.

OUR WORLD

Working on DEI initiatives internally and pushing closer toward these global collective goals promotes the inherent value in social equity and gender equality.

We invite participation from everyone in our communities to cultivate a sense of belonging for all – from our suppliers, to our associates at all levels of our organization, to our customers and the communities we serve.

The ‘ABCD’s of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Workforce Diversity
Supplier Diversity

Accountability, Belonging, Challenging the Status Quo, and Doing the Right Thing are our pillars of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. Bringing these pillars to life requires courage and psychological safety, which are common themes in inclusive leadership.

Belonging is a two-way street: a desire to belong is not enough; others also need to welcome you. This is a choice we all make, so we’ve created educational resources and hosted workshops to help our associates step up with empathy. When we feel a sense of belonging and have pride in ourselves and our work, we can meaningfully grow ourselves and our business.

UNFI’s Belonging & Innovation Groups (BIGs) are associate-led resource groups that work with executive sponsors to provide an open and safe environment to help cultivate this culture of sharing, learning, and ultimately, innovation. Our groups include BUILT (Black UNFI Leaders of Today), DREAM (Disability Resources, Equity, Allyship and Mentoring), VIP (Veterans Initiative Program), WIN (Women’s Integrated Network), Adelante (Hispanic/Latinx), PRIDE (LGBTQ+), and ACE (Asian Coalition for Engagement).

READ OUR COMMITMENT LETTER

We not only view DEI as a mechanism that provides a safe and inclusive environment for our associates, but also as an essential aspect of the Better for All strategy, and the future of the food industry. We’ve proudly reaffirmed our investment, adding new DEI team members, further integrating our DEI and associate well-being oversight, and delivering even more programming to associates aligned with our ‘ABCDs of DEI’.

To build a diverse, high-performing, and agile workforce, we’re taking many proactive and innovative steps, including bringing an equity lens to policy development and recruitment – for example, the implementation of our Diverse Slate Policy – implementing new incentives to increase retention of diverse talent, like daily pay, enhanced health benefits, and select time programs that account for the specific needs of each and every associate, and creating spaces for our associates to learn from one another, support each other, and affirm colleagues’ identities, all of which more deeply integrates our DEI strategy into our culture.

We are also proud to publish high-level data to be transparent about where we’ve made progress and where we’re still working to close the gap in representation of historically underrepresented voices in our company’s growth. This is especially true for our management roles and our Board of Directors because we know leadership representation creates a waterfall effect throughout the company.

UNFI’s Diversity Council reflects a broad spectrum of diversity, supporting associate and enterprise-wide efforts toward (including, but not limited to) race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, religion, disability status, sexual orientation, veteran status, and professional backgrounds. Working alongside UNFI executives, the Council drives Diversity & Inclusion goals and objectives by lending its perspective, experience, and resources to various initiatives across UNFI and in our communities.

In addition to sourcing from suppliers with certified social and environmental practices, we will use our buying power to support a more diverse set of suppliers. UNFI is dedicated to helping suppliers have an equal opportunity to be included in our goods for resale and indirect procurement processes. We also want to ensure that our product and service offerings reflect the needs of our expansive customer network.

Because of the many systemic inequities in the modern food system, we can’t expect our pool of suppliers to suddenly diversify overnight. We clarified our supplier diversity action plan to reflect our evolving commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and better integrate our mission into sourcing activities, spending levels, customer services, sales tactics, and more. Doing so can provide opportunities for historically underrepresented business owners and their communities and contribute to economic inclusion along our supply chain.

This is how we will ACT on our mission to build a more inclusive supply chain:

Apply…supplier diversity into our everyday business practice

Commit…to building connections with our customers and ease navigation through the UNFI network

Transform…the procurement process through greater transparency and accountability

Supplier Diversity Mission

To value and promote diverse-owned businesses and, by utilizing their perspectives and capabilities, build a more inclusive, vibrant, and competitive supply chain. We strive to strengthen communities, increase market share, and create wealth for historically underrepresented business owners.

We continue to work with our associates to create pathways toward equity, including new policies, training resources, and associate resource groups.

BIG News

UNFI’s associate resource groups, which we call our Belonging and Innovation Groups (BIGs), have seen a promising swell in associate – and leadership – involvement and initiative. These are one of the many ways that our associates are getting engaged and telling us about where we should invest further.

This year, we founded the seventh UNFI BIG, ACE (Asian Coalition for Engagement), to celebrate Asian Pacific Islander heritage and developed a group mission statement.

An Equity Lens on Policies

To consider the different needs of our associates, UNFI’s Diversity Council takes an equity-based approach to policy review to formalize updates that will make need-based benefits accessible to a wider audience. Our bereavement policy, for example, now includes approved leave for miscarriages and stillbirths, and we shifted our 401(k) enrollment from manual to automatic enrollment for new hires.

Conversations Across the Value Chain

In 2023, our WIN, ACE, and BUILT BIGs helped sponsor focused discussions related to supplier diversity in which diverse-owned suppliers shared their origin stories and experiences working with UNFI.

NMSDC Acres Program

We collaborated with Cargill and Walmart to support the “Acres: Cultivating Equity in Black Agriculture” program, launched by The National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC). Our $80,000 contribution will help NMSDC provide strategic business support to future cohorts of Black agricultural professionals and reversing disparities that Black farmers face.

UNFI UpNext

Through UpNext, we look for emerging brands, diverse suppliers, and partners invested in sustainability. Suppliers who meet our criteria are mentored - at no cost to them - by UNFI Supplier Development Managers and guided on how to best leverage UNFI's marketing programs, sales channels and tradeshows.

Real Talk Speaker Series

The Real Talk speaker series, which is part of the Fresh Perspectives learning series, speaks to issues of sexism, ageism, sizeism, and discrimination based on sexual orientation and disability.