Affiliated Foods Midwest history

Panhandle started out in Amarillo, Texas, in 1946, housed in a 4,000-square-foot building close to the downtown area of that small but rapidly growing city.

1968: Panhandle is merged with South Plains Associated Grocers, Inc. of Lubbock, Texas to form Affiliated Foods Inc.

In addition, in 1977, it added food-service supply to its business, that is, the direct sale of foodstuffs to restaurants and cafeterias.

In 1991, it installed a high power IBM computer using a full-function software package developed by BACG/Marwood Distribution Systems.

By April 1994, about 60 retailers had adopted Affiliated's non-food merchandising program.

1996: Plains Dairy is acquired.

Change accelerated more quickly through the decade, prompting Cooper, in 1997, to note that over the previous five years the company had experienced more changes and a greater need to incorporate technological advances than it faced in the previous 40 plus years of its development.

By 1998, Plains was the last commercial dairy left in town.

In 2000, for example, it entered an agreement with Networld Exchange, Inc., a business-to-business e-commerce service for food-service and hospitality providers.

In 2016, the co-op celebrated 90 years of serving independent grocery retailers and grew its footprint to over 3,800 stores in 36 states with the successful unification of Affiliated Foods Midwest, which brought about AWG’s newest divisions in Norfolk, Nebraska and Kenosha, Wisconsin.