Progressive Grocer’s Top Women in Grocery initiative recognizes the important role that women play in the food and grocery industry. Misty Kern, director of training for Food City was named among this year’s top winners. 

“I would like to congratulate Misty on this well-deserved honor and all her hard work and achievements. We are extremely proud of our women grocers and the key role they play within our company, the industry, and the communities we serve,” said Steven C. Smith, Food City president and chief executive officer. 

Progressive Grocer receives hundreds of nominations from women grocers in all sectors of the industry across the nation. This year’s winners were showcased in their June issue and will also be recognized in November at their annual awards gala in Orlando, FL. 

Kern oversees the company’s Training and Food Safety Departments, which include the Food City Distribution Center and 156 retail locations spanning their five-state operational area. Kern and her team are responsible for directing the development of training programs for salaried and hourly members of store leadership and management; conducting soft skills training for department management, store management, district management, and corporate leadership; facilitating the company’s corporate and retail management internship programs; oversight of computer-based learning courses; and coordinating the training and certification of SafeMark Food Protection managers.

Kern sponsors the company's ECO/Sustainability Committee. Earlier this year, she helped establish a partnership with an international chemical company headquartered locally to serve as a community collection site for post-consumer plastics (1 to 7, excluding 3) which will be recycled at a molecular level. She implemented a reusable bag/shopping box initiative/contest that resulted in a decrease of nearly 1% or 134,000 single-use plastic bags. She organized a partnership with a local university to provide a 10% tuition discount for company associates and their dependents. 

Kern is also a founding member of Food City’s EMPOWER program, which supports female associates through education, mentorship, and fellowship. She is active within her local community and received the company’s Claude Varney Volunteerism Award in 2023, recognizing her outstanding community service. Kern recently organized a team of volunteers to participate in the Habitat for Humanity Women’s Build. The project provides the opportunity for women to take a proactive step in serving their communities, while sending a positive and powerful message regarding women helping women. She volunteers her time to assist with this event each year as well. Kern volunteers with the annual CSX Santa Train project helping pack food and toys that are distributed over a 110-mile route through the communities of the Appalachia region. The train makes fourteen stops in Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee where more than 15 tons of toys and supplies are distributed to needy families in the region. 

Kern is an alumna of Gate City High School in Gate City, VA and attended Mountain Empire Community College and Virginia Tech. She holds a Retail Management Technical Certificate from Nashville State Community College and has completed Dale Carnegie's training course and FMI’s Food Retail Leader Certificate Program. She also earned a highly sought-after spot in this summer's Executive Leadership Program at Cornell University. Kern and her husband, Kip are the proud parents of one son, Jakson. They currently reside in Kingsport, TN.

Headquartered in Abingdon, Virginia, K-VA-T Food Stores (Food City’s parent company) operates 156 retail outlets throughout southeast Kentucky, southwest Virginia, east Tennessee, north Georgia, and Alabama