Food Lion, LLC is in its second year of a nationally-recognized college internship program. The program had been named a semi-finalist for the Food Marketing Institute's Maximizing People Award. This honor is given annually to a wholesaler or retailer that develops an initiative to improve employee performance or that leads to the achievement of a key business goal.
The College Internship Program gives students a ten-week assignment, which begins in mid-May after the students have completed their academic year in college. The objective of the program is to provide professional work experience and allow for students to assess the corporate world first hand. The ultimate goal is for students to see the daily operations of Food Lion's corporate environment. Interns have the opportunity to compare and contrast academic teachings to real-life situations.
"Our internship program has provided great opportunities for our company and our students. Sometimes we get so caught up in our own business that a young person's perspective can really bring in good ideas," said Brandon G. Major, Food Lion LLC's Talent management manager and the leader of the college internship program.
According to Major, the internship program has provided great opportunities for the company. Last year 25 percent of the interns were hired full-time following their completion of the internship program.
Peter Booker, who graduated from Winston Salem State University in 2007, was a member of last year's team of interns, and after completion of his internship, was permanently hired by Food Lion to work in the Finance Department.
"I think it was a successful program not only because I got hired but it provided an opportunity that I did not get in school," Booker said. "The college internship program provides a good opportunity to network; you get to meet a lot of people in the business community who can put you in the right direction."
This year the program has expanded to include overseas assignments. Two interns will work this summer for Food Lion, LLC's parent company, the Delhaize Group, in Brussels, Belgium. Shahin Soltan, a student at Catawba College, and Chad Lewis, who attends Livingstone College, left in mid-May. Soltan will be working with the Delhaize Group's Corporate Accounting and Analysis team, and Lewis will be working in Marketing.
The program also has students representing the following area colleges in 2008:
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Lee University, Catawba College, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Elon University, the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Johnson C. Smith University, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Livingstone College, Davidson College, the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, East Carolina University, and Rowan-Cabarrus Community College.
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PHOTOS: Business Internship in Brussels, Belgium
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Food Lion LLC is a subsidiary of Brussels-based Delhaize Group (NYSE: DEG). Food Lion LLC operates approximately 1,300 supermarkets, either directly or through affiliated entities, under the names of Food Lion, Bloom, Bottom Dollar Food, Harveys and Reid's. These stores meet local customer needs and preferences for the freshest and best quality products. Food Lion LLC employs approximately 73,000 associates in 11 Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states.
Source: foodlion.com
