Mission Not Impossible: Knowing Where Your Food Comes From

Promoting and Advancing Petroleum Marketing, Retail Grocery, and Convenience Stores in West Virginia

Driving Local Business and Community Growth Across West Virginia

Our Purpose and Commitment

OMEGA is a West Virginia-based organization dedicated to supporting and advancing the business interests of the state’s petroleum marketing, retail grocery, and convenience store industries.

As a network of over 225 locally owned businesses, OMEGA actively promotes cooperation, advocates for favorable legislation, and provides education and resources to its members. With over 50,000 employees, OMEGA members significantly contribute to the state’s economy, generating more than 10% of all state taxes and supporting local communities through scholarships, charitable donations, and civic involvement.

OMEGA is committed to fostering industry growth while serving West Virginians with essential services like fuel, food, and convenience.

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Join a Community that Champions, Connects, and Elevates!

Your Essential Connection in West Virginia

OMEGA offers three types of membership: Convenience Store Members, Petroleum Marketer Members, and Grocer Members, all of which play a vital role in providing fuel, food, and essentials across West Virginia. As a liaison with state and national agencies, OMEGA works closely with organizations like NACS, PMAA, FMI, and the N.G.A. to advocate on behalf of its members.

We keep members informed through newsletters, legislative updates, an online resource hub, and educational seminars. Additional member benefits include access to the Encova Workers’ Compensation Discount Program and participation in our annual Trade Expo and fundraising efforts for children’s charities. OMEGA is here to support, advocate, and enhance the success of our industry members.

Today’s shoppers want to buy from local growers and, whenever possible, know the source of the ingredients in their processed food. For food retailers and companies looking to respond to this consumer demand for healthy, locally sourced food, the task of providing the information about where the food you’re selling in the grocery aisles comes from might seem impossible, but I promise you it’s not.

By: Sarah Malenich, Senior Manager for Sales & Marketing, Safe Quality Food Institute <img src="http://www.fmi.org/images/default-source/blog-images/mission-impossible.tmb-large-350-.jpg?sfvrsn=1" data-displaymode="Thumbnail" alt="Mission Impossible" title="Mission Impossible" style="float: right; margin: 10px;" /> Today’s shoppers want to buy from local growers and, whenever possible, know the source of the ingredients in their processed food. For food retailers and companies looking to respond to this consumer demand for healthy, locally sourced food, the task of providing the information about where the food you’re selling in the grocery aisles comes from might seem impossible, but I promise you it’s not. It’s true, buying from local growers can present many challenges and risks to a food company’s supplier approval program. It might seem at times to be as complicated as Tom Cruise trying to steal a top secret list from the heart of the CIA. But the truth is, for a program to be successful clear, easy and fast communication across hundreds of growers and several decision makers is the game changer. By that I mean: <ul> <li>Growers must be able to easily and quickly communicate information about Quality Systems Compliance (sanitation, HACCP, recall system, environmental monitoring, GAP, regulatory compliance, letters of insurance, letters of guarantee and returned goods policy, to name a few), product availability, quantity, quality and price to buyers;  </li> <li>Quality Assurance or Food Safety team members need to be able to see the required information anytime, anywhere, and respond quickly for approval; and </li> <li>Negotiations between procurement teams and growers need to be captured, analyzed and presented in an easy to understand format that can be tracked and traced.</li> </ul> Simple! Right? That’s where the <a href="http://www.sqfi.com/">Safe Quality Food Institute</a> comes in. Join the SQFI team and Gina R. (Nicholson) Kramer, Executive Director, Savour Food Safety International, in our <a href="http://www.sqfi.com/events/learning-lunch-webinar-building-a-robust-local-supplier-approval-program/">Free Learning Lunch</a> on Wednesday July 27, 2016 at 12:00 pm ET, as we discuss how to work directly with local growers and learn simple and quality system compliance measures that the local grower can achieve to turn mission impossible into mission accomplished.  <a href="http://www.sqfi.com/events/learning-lunch-webinar-building-a-robust-local-supplier-approval-program/">Register online</a>.  <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/124561666@N02/14217821769">Photo Credit: TNS Sofres</a>

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Supporting West Virginia Communities

OMEGA members play a vital role in West Virginia, supporting communities through substantial tax contributions and a wide-reaching presence across the state. With over 55% of the population living in border counties, our members are dedicated to serving both local and regional needs. Beyond business, we’re proud to give back, having contributed over $3.1 million to children’s charities since 2003, reflecting our commitment to making a positive difference.