There are many Food Lion careers to choose from if you live in one of the 10 states across the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic portions of the United States.
This company has well over 1,000 locations and is home to more than 77,000 employees.
Working at Food Lion
Employees who either work or have worked at Food Lion generally give this supermarket chain slightly above-average reviews. While many workers don’t appreciate the starting hourly pay, the work/life balance gets good reviews.
Pros
- Fellow employees work as a team and are very helpful
- The jobs are very simple and straightforward
- Some locations give you a lot of overtime hours
- Management will work around your personal schedule when scheduling shifts
- Benefits for full-time workers are very good
- There is an excellent chance for advancement within the company
- Employees get a 10% discount
- Management generally gets good reviews from employees
Cons
- Full-time positions at many stores are very limited
- Management doesn’t schedule you for enough hours of work every week
- You have to be working on your feet all day
- The pay needs improvement
- Some employees say they have to perform the work of two people during their shift
- Your work schedule can be unpredictable just about every week
Food Lion Store Careers
The common store positions for this company are associates in the categories of:
- Cashier
- Stocker
- Dairy
- Perishable
- To-go
- Deli bakery
Next, there are many department manager positions such as in the deli bakery, grocery, customer service, produce, and perishable departments.
Food Lion will also have assistant managers and one store manager. These employees oversee all operations and are crucial to the success of each store.
Food Lion Associate
This is the general associate position at Food Lion. Once you are hired, your primary function will be engaging with customers and providing the best customer service possible for them.
You will be known as a center store grocery associate and will have many duties and responsibilities including:
- Making sure the shelves are clean and stocked appropriately
- Switching out expired products and replacing them with fresh ones
- Following all company safety procedures
- Engaging in store cleaning duties
- Completing any and all work assigned by your management staff
In this position, you can be hired part-time or full-time. The minimum qualifications are that you have to be a people person with the ability to learn your job quickly. You must also meet the physical requirements of bending over and lifting products that can weigh up to 15 lbs.
Even though there is no requirement to have a high school diploma or GED, it is preferred.
Food Lion Cashier
In this job, you’ll be working in the front end of the store. You’ll collaborate with your customer service management team in order to maximize sales and provide great customer service.
You will be expected to say hello to every customer you see. You are even expected to try to get to know them on a first-name basis! This is a very responsible position where you will have to be accurate with your cash control at your workstation.
At times, you will have to switch gears and begin retrieving carts from the parking lots. This depends on how your management team runs the store.
Even though this job can be considered entry-level, you will have a better chance of getting hired for this position if you have experience as a cashier.
Food Lion Stocker
Some associates are hired specifically to load and unload products in the back end of the store. They are also expected to stock and maintain the store shelves with products. This is a very simple job but it requires physical stamina so that you can easily accomplish your daily tasks.
Stockers at Food Lion also have to retrieve carts in the parking lots and wipe them off. They also perform cleaning duties which also include sanitizing the bathrooms.
Some stockers also perform bagger duties as well as occasional cashiering whenever necessary. If you don’t have any experience in this position, you will be happy to know most of your duties are easy. You will learn how to perform your daily duties while on the job.
To-Go Associates and Lead Positions
Many Food Lion stores have a “To-Go” program where customers can easily shop online and pick up their purchases or have them delivered to their homes.
Associates working in this department are in charge of accurately fulfilling customer orders and scanning and bagging the products as well as handling the payment transactions according to the store’s procedures.
This is a fun job that’s perfect for somebody who likes to remain active. It is said that many associates in this position walk several miles a day while completing customers’ orders.
A lead position in the To-Go department is all about leading your team of employees to success by coaching and overseeing daily activities. As a team leader in this department, you will be setting yourself up for a higher-paying management career in the future within this company.
Department Managers
Food Lion employs managers to lead its associates in the many departments located throughout the store. These employees are expected to support their management team and help them reach their sales goals.
This can be accomplished by effectively communicating with store associates and building relations with customers. Department Managers are also involved in the hiring process as well as developing and training their hired personnel.
Many associates who start out at the entry-level work hard and prove themselves and get promoted to these positions.
Food Lion Assistant Manager
An assistant manager at Food Lion is heavily involved in the store’s daily operations. One minute, you may be helping and coaching an associate, and the next, you may be having to discipline an employee and correcting their behavior to have them comply with procedures and to improve their performance.
Your store manager is going to entrust you with the store’s financials, so you’ll have to work hard at scheduling employees, maximizing sales, and keeping track of all the money flowing in and out of the store.
For this position, it’s preferable to have a college degree but it is not required. It is required, however, to have some type of management experience. Typically, department managers get promoted to this position.
Food Lion Manager
As a store manager for this company, you are the one responsible for the success of your particular store. This means you need to have excellent communication skills and the ability to promote a strong working culture among your staff members.
You will be meeting regularly with your entire management team in order to establish sales goals and exceed them on a constant basis.
You’ll need some management experience to get hired for this position and even though a bachelor’s degree is not required, it is preferred. Assistant managers are typically promoted to this position after working hard and proving themselves to upper management.
How to Apply at Food Lion
Food Lion only accepts applications online. Therefore, use the following steps to apply:
- Visit the official Food Lion careers website.
- Click the “Jobs” link and you will be redirected to a page asking you if you currently work for this company or any of its subsidiaries.
- Click “No” and you will be redirected to the job search page.
- Select “Food Lion” from the drop-down menu where it reads “Operating Company” and select “Retail/Grocery Store Position” under the “Business Unit” heading.
- Enter your city, state, or ZIP Code and press the submit button.
- On the following page, click on positions that may interest you, and after you read the job description click the “Apply Online” link at the bottom to begin your Food Lion job application process.
Food Lion Hiring Process
The hiring process at Food Lion begins with a callback to set up an interview within the first week after applying online. Next, you attend either one or two interviews and if you do well, you are hired within the first 1 to 2 weeks after submitting your application.
Some associates actually say the timetable to get hired depends on the needs of the store and that some associates have been hired on the spot after attending their first interview.
Food Lion Hiring Age
You have to be 16 years old to work as a bagger or stocker at Food Lion. However, you must be at least 18 to work other more high liability jobs such as deli/bakery associate and other positions that deal with dangerous equipment. This company is full of success stories dealing with 16-year-old students who started out bagging groceries and are now store managers!
Does Food Lion drug test?
Usually, Food Lion does not drug test its hourly job applicants unless the hiring manager or staff member feels it is necessary. If they do perform a drug test on you, it may take place either before or after the interview.
Generally, managers hired externally will have to submit to a drug test. However, it is not as common for people who have been hired to management positions from within to have to take a drug test as a condition of their promotion.
History
In 1957, Food Lion opened its doors in Salisbury, North Carolina. A Belgian company named Delhaize Group bought this company in 1974 and in the 1980s, it began its vast expansion.
The company opened many stores in the mid-Atlantic states across the US, then continued its expansion in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia.
These days, you can find a Food Lion just about anywhere in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.
Benefits
Food Lion offers its full-time employees who have completed their first 90 working days, comprehensive health, dental, and vision plans. They also offer paid holidays, paid sick leave, vacation time, life insurance, and a 401(k) with a company match up to 5% of your contributions.
Final Thoughts
Food Lion is your typical supermarket chain that pays its entry-level workers a low starting hourly rate as a means of having them work hard to benefit the company and for employees to work toward a management career.
The problem with this is that there are plenty of workers who don’t aspire to be a manager. It’s difficult to ask, for example, a mother of two children who needs a stable paycheck to work as a cashier and make $9.50 an hour to start while working an inconsistent shift schedule.
A job here is perfect for younger workers who want to get their feet wet in the supermarket retail industry. As an example, a college student can easily get hired part-time for a position at the company, and make enough money as a side income to help them through college while gaining experience and setting their sights on management or corporate careers.
If you are a senior looking to supplement your retirement income, a job here as a bagger, stocker, or cashier is not a bad choice. However, there are other supermarkets/grocery chains such as Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe’s that can pay you a higher entry-level salary, which means you’ll be able to work fewer hours in order to provide for your financial well-being.
All in all, Food Lion is a good choice for college students or young workers aspiring to become supermarket/grocery store managers. If you are someone who needs a steady paycheck to support yourself or your family, you may want to consider other alternatives such as the ones described above if they are available in your area.
