Richard Saker to Lead New Jersey Food Council
MONROE, NJ – At its Annual Membership Meeting last week, the New Jersey Food Council selected Richard Saker as its new Chairman of the Board with two one-year terms. Saker, who is Chairman, President and CEO of Saker Holdings Corporation and Saker ShopRites, Inc., will lead New Jersey’s largest food industry trade association.
Having previously served as NJFC Vice Chair, Saker, a resident of Middletown, was installed as Chairman by New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno. His ascension to the Chairmanship has historical significance, as his father, Joe Saker, was a founder and served as the first Chairman of the Board of NJFC in 1969.
NJFC President and CEO Linda Doherty remarked on the historical precedence of Saker’s chairmanship, which commemorates the first time a next generation family member has led the statewide trade association.
“The New Jersey Food Council was born in the living room of the Saker Family when Richard’s father Joe Saker and a group of supermarket pioneers recognized the need for the food retail industry to have one common and unified voice in Trenton,” said Doherty. “Almost 50 years later, Richard carries his father’s legacy as he takes the helm as the nineteenth NJFC Chairman of the Board. Under Richard’s leadership, we are confident the Association will continue to grow and promote the interests of food retailers before state and federal government in this dynamic business environment.”
Richard Saker is owner and operator of 30 ShopRite Supermarkets, 29 pharmacies, 2 liquor stores, and Dearborn Market and Garden Center. Saker ShopRites is one of the highest average volume per store supermarket chains in the country, employing nearly 9,000 associates.