Recently, the City of Davis (Calif.) Human Relations Commission awarded the Davis Food Co-op the Thong Hy Huynh Award for Excellence in Community Involvement. Laura Sanchez, Davis’ general manager, accepted the award on behalf of the co-op’s board of directors, staff and more than 8,000 owners.

The Thong Hy Huynh Award for Excellence in Community Involvement was established by the City of Davis to commemorate the 1983 stabbing death of Davis High School student Thong Hy Huynh. This recognition is awarded to a business or nonprofit organization, and occasionally a community individual, that has a record of significant efforts improving the quality of life for Davis residents through the areas of health, human services, housing, education or employment.

The co-op was nominated for the award thanks to a submission from its marketing specialist, Christine Ciganovich, who heard about the award and submitted a nomination. A segment of Ciganovich’s submission reads:

The Davis Food Co-op is committed to creating and sustaining a diverse, equitable and inclusive community. The Co-op encourages members of historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, women, LGBTQ community members, individuals with disabilities, veterans, and others committed to this same vision to seek employment with the Co-op. The Co-op has taken steps to make the store more inclusive by adding staff pronouns to name tags, acknowledging the native land the Co-op occupies, adding accessibility adjustments to their website, and publishing the Inclusive Trade Business List so shoppers and Owners can see which brands are BIPOC-, woman-, veteran- and LGBTQ-owned.

According to Vincent Marchese, Davis Food Co-op’s marketing manager, this entry inspired the award selection committee to choose the co-op as a recipient this year. “It is an honor to be included among those who work to strengthen the bonds of our community by making it more equitable, compassionate and just,” Marchese said.