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April 1, 2005/Adar II 21 5765, Volume 57, No. 31
NE Valley Albertsons ceases kosher baking
BENJAMIN LEATHERMAN
Special to Jewish News
Jews in the Northeast Valley searching for freshly made kosher baked goods will have to start looking elsewhere.
Managers at the Albertsons store located at 10665 N. Tatum Blvd. in Phoenix recently announced that the supermarket's bakery will no longer be under the kosher supervision of the Orthodox Union as of Monday, April 4.
The location will still offer other packaged pareve products, such as cakes and cookies, prepared in off-site kosher-supervised bakeries.
Store management referred calls to Albertsons' public relations in Boise, Idaho, who in turn said they were unfamiliar with the decision and could not comment as of press time.
Rabbi Chaim Silver of Young Israel of Phoenix said he suspects the axing of the service is due to difficulties in obtaining ingredients for pareve baked goods, which are made without animal products, for only two stores in a cost-effective manner.
"There are small suppliers out of New York," said Silver. "But because of corporate America, you can't just buy one product for one store, you have to buy it for the entire region, and they wouldn't do it."
The Albertsons location at 1625 E. Camelback Road in Phoenix is still preparing such items as bread, cakes, bagels, cookies and doughnuts under Silver's supervision. All products made are kosher, pareve and pas yisroel (or made by a Jew).
Both stores began offering the service in May 2002.
Silver encourages anyone upset with the decision to call the store at 602-443-4286 and register a complaint, as well as calling the Camelback store at 602-604-0646 to urge management to continue the program.
"I basically have tried to impress upon them the fact that they provide a service in this community," Silver said. "And I feel it would be just wrong for them to take that away from the community."
Benjamin Leatherman is a Tempe freelance writer.
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