NORTH IDAHO
IN FOCUS FAMILY OWNED, COMMUNITY FOCUSED SUPER 1 FOODS: NORTH IDAHO’S SUPERMARKET BY ABIGAIL THORPE PHOTOS COURTESY OF SUPER 1 FOODS AND ALISON HENSLEE
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alk in your local Super 1 Foods store, and odds are you’re met by a friendly face, helping hands and a sense of community. Particularly during these uncertain times, our supermarket and grocery workers have been on the frontlines, making sure their communities have the goods they need, with a sense of “we’re all in this together” at every stage of the process. While many of us were (or are) stuck at home, they’ve been the often unseen hands stocking shelves, cleaning carts and making sure the elderly and those most in need have access to the necessities. But It’s not just COVID-19 that’s brought this about—Super 1 has always had community at its core. “At Super 1 Foods we emulate our founders’ values: trust, loyalty, integrity, dependability, safety,” says Jeff Hamley, Super 1 Foods store director in Bonners Ferry. The company was founded by Ron and Joanne
McIntire in 1970, and Ron is still active in the business today. The company just opened its 16th store in May 2020 in Oldtown, Idaho. “Being a local North Idaho founded company, and growing up with the towns in North Idaho through all the growth in the last 50 years, has kept us involved in serving our communities as times and needs have changed,” says Randy McIntire, the Hayden-based vice president of Manito Super 1 Foods. Ron McIntire was dedicated to serving local charitable and governmental organizations, including his local school board and the Boy Scouts Inland Northwest Council, formerly the Inland Empire Council. “Super 1 Foods follows his lead in trying to be generous, helpful in our local communities,” says Randy McIntire. “Our schools, and our local food banks, are some primary organizations we try to serve. “Some of our small rural schools are now
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large suburban schools, and the available opportunities have grown with our communities. Super 1 has been able to serve more and in larger ways as it has grown as a company,” he adds. Each store—and the company as a whole— continues to operate by Ron McIntire’s commitment to the community, supporting various youth programs, schools, parks and recs programs, scouts, 4-H, county fairs and hospital boards in each area. “Hayden (and) Coeur d’Alene communities are made up of people that are very proud of their community, and appreciate the natural beauty of North Idaho,” says Randy McIntire. “They are very active in trying to support our local community and be a positive influence on keeping our community a great place to live. Super 1 Foods, like many other local businesses, are striving for the same thing—to make our community a better place to live.”
