Investing in Our Team and the Hispanic Community
July 21, 2025
Michigan Sustainable Business Forum hosted the West Michigan Chamber of Commerce’s Monthly Conecta Membership Meeting last week at Olvera Enterprises, parent company of Supermercado Mexico. This is one of several recent collaborations with the chamber in support of our staff and the Hispanic community.
Sustainability Associate Hanna De La Vega Sanchez and Executive Director Daniel Schoonmaker shared information on sustainable business, restaurant sustainability and foodware, food waste and watershed protection, highlighting various programs available to provide technical assistance and free resources.
The Forum has hosted a Conecta meeting each year since 2018, and has also presented or hosted its Spanish-language workshops, Talleres Empresariales. We currently have four programs available to serve Hispanic businesses in Michigan.
De La Vega Sanchez was a 2024 LEADeres fellow at the Chamber. LEADeres is a leadership lab for Latinx professionals that emphasizes identity formation and personal development in the areas of cultural identity, leadership, professional development, and community and civic engagement. Participants learn and grow together over a six-month period, engaging with seasoned leaders and working on teams to identify creative solutions for community issues. Applications are now being accepted for this year’s cohort. De La Vega Sanchez was also nominated for the Chamber’s Young Professional of the Year Award at its most recent Gala.
The Conecta meeting was also an opportunity to highlight Supermercado Mexico’s partnership with Flashfood. It was one of the first independent grocery stores to adopt the platform that has delivered substantial savings for MiSBF grocery members Meijer and SpartanNash.
Flashfood for Independents builds on the value-add of the Flashfood platform already available at more than 2,200 enterprise stores across North America, with participating grocers seeing an average 27% shrink reduction, one or more additional store trips per month and $20 in incremental sales per month.
