Since Sliced Bread

For Greyston Bakery, Yonkers, NY, an unorthodox hiring model has opened the doors to overlooked labor pools to fill open positions at the bakery, and in the process the company is rewriting the rules on employment. Joe Kenner, president and chief executive officer, and Rich Jamesley, vice president and general manager, explain the company’s open hiring policy, how it works and how it has benefited the bakery.

Kicking off the  fourth season of Since Sliced Bread  is a conversation with Marjorie Hellmer, president, Cypress Research Associates, a firm that has conducted research on the baking industry’s behalf for 18 years. Ms. Hellmer will discuss how the industry has evolved since Cypress conducted the 2016 Workforce Gap Study commissioned by the American Bakers Association and the American Society of Baking and break down the extent of the skills gap as well as the shortage of labor.

After examining the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on commercial bakeries, Baking & Snack’s podcast Since Sliced Bread will return Oct. 14 to take on the workforce crisis. In the new season, Charlotte Atchley, senior editor, Baking & Snack, speaks with guests about how companies can solve the industry’s inescapable problem of hiring and retaining talent of all skill levels.

In 2005, Leidenheimer Baking Co. endured Hurricane Katrina as it flooded 80% of New Orleans and displaced more than one million people. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the bakery and the entire food industry very differently than Hurricane Katrina, but as companies try to survive, the heart of each of these crises is much the same. For season three’s final episode, we speak to Sandy Whann, president of Leidenheimer Baking Co., about how Hurricane Katrina has informed the company’s COVID-19 strategy and what it will take for the baking industry to move forward through this storm.

When the pandemic arrived in the United States and government orders shut down the economy, the American Bakers Association and SNAC International jumped into action. Both associations saw themselves as connection points between the industries they serve and the state and federal governments. They also served as resources of information from government agencies as it changed so quickly in those early days.

The very nature of a pandemic means that COVID-19 has disrupted business and lives around the world. As the world’s largest baking company, Grupo Bimbo has had a front row seat to the entire crisis. In this episode, Jonathan Berger, vice president of human relations, Bimbo Bakeries USA, shares how the company’s global footprint prepared it for the pandemic as it unfolded.

In this episode of Since Sliced Bread, Yianny Caparos, president of The Bakery Cos., explains why the business didn’t shy away from growth despite the pandemic’s uncertainty. Hear the unique challenges that came with expanding in the midst of COVID-19 and how the company overcame those obstacles.

To keep the production line running, baking and snack companies are finding new ways to support and incentivize their workers throughout the pandemic. Baking & Snack spoke with Rob Sarlls, president and chief executive officer, Wyandot Snacks, about why the company decided to give its employees snacks, extra pay and quarantine aid during the crisis and how it has impacted morale.

As bakeries develop their COVID-19 contingency plans, shutting down operations for an outbreak should be a part of their strategy. In this episode, Jaime Correa, chief executive officer of AbiMar Foods, Abilene, Texas, shared the company’s experience closing its facilities when an outbreak was detected.

As the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has upended consumer buying habits and the way business is done, the supermarket has been where all of these changes have converged. In this episode of Since Sliced Bread, David Ball, president and chief executive officer of Ball Foods, shares how his 26 grocery stores managed employee safety, avoided supply chain disruptions and kept customers’ carts full during this unpredictable time.