Food Lion Earns Top Marks in 2020 Corporate Equality Index

Food Lion Earns 100 Percent for 11th Consecutive Year on Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Seventeenth Annual Scorecard on LGBTQ Workplace Equality

SALISBURY, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Food Lion proudly announced that it received a perfect score of 100 percent on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2020 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), the nation’s premier benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality. This is the 11^th consecutive year that Food Lion has received a top score. Food Lion joins the ranks of more than 680 major businesses which also earned top marks.

"At Food Lion, we are honored and proud to have earned a perfect score for an 11^th consecutive year,” said Millette Granville, Vice President, Talent, Diversity & Inclusion, and Organizational Development at Food Lion. "We remain committed to be a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality and to upholding a diverse and inclusive environment for all of our associates in the towns and cities we serve.”

In addition to receiving the perfect score on the Index, Food Lion is also a member of the HRC Business Coalition for the Equality Act, which would create comprehensive non-discrimination protections for individuals in the LGBTQ community.

The 2020 CEI evaluated LGBTQ-related policies and practices in five broad categories: non-discrimination policies, employment benefits, demonstrating organizational competency and accountability around LQBTQ diversity and inclusion, supporting an inclusive culture and corporate social responsibility including public commitment to LGBTQ equality and responsible corporate citizenship.

Food Lion’s efforts in satisfying all of the CEI’s criteria earned a 100 percent ranking and the designation as a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality. In addition, all the Ahold Delhaize U.S. brands received a 100 percent ranking for the first time.

The full 2020 CEI can be viewed at www.hrc.org/cei.

About Food Lion

Food Lion, based in Salisbury, N.C., since 1957, has more than 1,000 stores in 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states and employs more than 63,000 associates. By leveraging its longstanding heritage of low prices and convenient locations, Food Lion is working to own the easiest full shop grocery experience in the Southeast, anchored by a strong commitment to affordability, freshness and the communities it serves. Through Food Lion Feeds, the company has donated more than 500 million meals to individuals and families since 2014, and has committed to donate 1 billion more meals by 2025. Food Lion is a company of Ahold Delhaize USA, the U.S. division of Zaandam-based Ahold Delhaize. For more information, visit www.foodlion.com.