A store director for Farm Fresh is looking to host a job fair to help not only those displaced by the supermarket chain closure, but other retail closures in Hampton Roads as well.
“It’s scary for everybody,” said Andy Adams about telling his employees at the Farm Fresh on Military Boulevard in Norfolk about the closure. “I must stay positive. As a leader, if they see me down in the dumps, that is where they are going to be.”
Andy Adams has worked for Farm Fresh stores for the last 8 years and knew he couldn’t watch more than 2,600 jobs disappear without doing anything.
He reached out to Opportunity Inc., a state-funded workforce development group in Norfolk, to start planning a job fair.
“What we are really looking for is to drive this event to a level that Hampton Roads really hasn’t seen before,” Adams said. “We are going to open this event to Toys “R” Us. I really want the Toys “R” US family to be involved in this. They are in the same boat we are!”
Potential employers have already started to reach out to be a part of the fair, according to Jacqueline Rondeau of Opportunity Inc.
Adams hopes to host the event before he starts his new job as a district manager with 7-Eleven at the end of April.
The only problem? There is no location selected for the event.
“We are going to need a location for approximately 100 employers, maybe more,” Adams said. “Having a job gives people a sense of purpose. So if I can do anything in my power to help these people get that part of their life back, that’s what I am going to do.”
Anyone looking to help with the fair is asked to contact Andy Adams at Andy.adams@supervalu.com.
