"Fortune" shines on Wegmans once again

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Fortune on Thursday released its “100 Best Companies to Work For” list, ranking Wegmans Food Markets No. 3 and making the New York-based grocer the highest-ranked retailer. Only the software firm SAS and consulting organization Boston Consulting Group ranked higher. Wegmans has appeared on the Fortune list for 14 consecutive years, every year since the list was first published in 1998.

Wegmans' employee wellness program is part of what placed the supermarket chain so high on the list. “This customer-friendly supermarket chain cares about the well-being of its workers, too,” Fortune wrote. “This year, 11,000 employees took part in a challenge to eat five cups of fruit and vegetables a day and walk up to 10,000 steps a day for eight weeks. Another 8,000 took advantage of health screenings that included a flu shot and H1N1 vaccine — all covered by Wegmans.”

"There is nothing more important to us than being a great place to work,” stated Wegmans CEO Danny Wegman. “When our people feel valued and cared about, they, in turn, make our customers feel the same.”

Also on the list are Whole Foods Market (No. 24) — which received extra kudos for paying 100% of its employees’ healthcare premiums — Novo Nordisk (No. 47), General Mills (No. 58), Publix Super Markets (No. 67) and S.C. Johnson (No. 70).