Civil Rights
Champion
Oregon honors man
who defied curfew
on Japanese
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Portland Observer
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Black Love Day
Event encourages
self-love instead
of self-hate
s ee l oCal n eWs , Page 3
See story, page 5
‘City of Roses’
Volume XLV
Number 13
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • March 30, 2016
Established in 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Photo by M ark W ashington /t he P ortland o bserver
A community welcome goes out at the grand opening of the New Seasons Market on North Lombard Street in the University Park neighborhood from Erin Leiker (left) man-
ager of the store and Wendy Collie, New Seasons’ chief executive officer.
Nourishing the Community
New Seasons
expands to
University Park
M iChael l eighton
P ortland o bserver e ditor
New Seasons Market, the local-
ly-grown chain of grocery outlets that
puts a premium on fresh, healthy foods
while giving back to the community, has
expanded its reach by opening its third lo-
cation in north Portland.
The University Park New Seasons
by
Market opened last week at 6300 N. Lom-
bard St. with a grand opening celebration.
The 25,000-square-foot store brings 120
new jobs to the community and supports
an employer which embraces diversity in
its hiring.
At New Seasons, the employees look
like the people who live in the neighbor-
hood because the company hires a diverse
workforce from the local community. The
grocer now with 19 locations in Washing-
ton, Oregon and California is also prized
for good pay and benefits and putting a
premium at sourcing food from local
growers and supporting local nonprofits.
“New Seasons is a place where res-
idents can connect with the communi-
ty, discover new foods and engage with
the friendly staff and their neighbors,”
said University Park Store Manager Erin
Leiker. “This store, with its central loca-
tion, great food and community gathering
places, is going to be a commons for this
neighborhood.”
Leiker, along with many of her staff,
have lived in north Portland for years, she
said.
New Seasons Market promotes itself as
a neighborhood grocer with a people-first
culture that builds and sustains relation-
ships for the greater good. The company
donates 10 percent of its after-tax profits
to local nonprofit organizations and pro-
motes environmental stewardship. Each
store also partners with local hunger relief
organizations and gives directly to local
schools and foundations.
The University Park store, which an-
chors a dynamic community of busy stu-
dents, professionals and families, features
a laidback outdoor seating area with recy-
cled milk jug lounge chairs. Inside, abun-
dant New Seasons chef-prepared selections
C ontinued on P age 5