Named one of USA Today’s top workplaces
Story by Cherith Glover Fluker
Submitted and staff photos
Just off Highway 78 in Moody, a company is quietly doing something remarkable – and not just the millions of pounds of food ingredients it moves across the Southeast every month. Processor’s Choice has earned a spot on USA Today’s Top Workplaces list three consecutive years running, and the recognition isn’t coming from the top down. It’s coming straight from the people who show up there every day to work.
Founded in 1984 by Don Allinder, Processor’s Choice started as a straightforward warehouse operation. Today, under the leadership of President Mark Bales, it has evolved into something far more sophisticated: a leading solution provider for food and beverage manufacturers across the country.
Think of it as a bulk grocery distributor on a much larger scale. Rather than selling finished products to consumers, Processor’s Choice distributes bulk food and beverage ingredients, servicing everything from large Fortune 100 companies to local mom-and-pop businesses. By consolidating orders and maintaining a robust inventory, they can get ingredients to customers quickly, even when demand is urgent.
“We help customers develop and reformulate products to meet regulatory requirements while maintaining performance,” Bales explained. It’s a niche that requires both technical knowledge and a genuine problem-solving mindset. These qualities are baked into the company’s four core values: customer-focused, collaborative, dependable and problem-solving.
The company’s footprint is impressive for a team of 30. With seven sales representatives, Processor’s Choice serves customers from North Carolina to Texas, with reach extending as far as Los Angeles and Jamaica. In 2011, Allinder sold the company to Doug Skidmore, making it part of the Skidmore Enterprise group. This acquisition expanded supplier relationships and broadened the company’s network of facilities, making it an even more reliable partner for its customers.
Winning USA Today’s Top Workplaces award once is an achievement. Winning it three years in a row is a statement. What makes it even more meaningful is how the honor is earned. Rather than through a company-nominated application, the award is driven entirely through anonymous employee surveys. The people doing the work are the ones casting the votes.
So what are they voting for?
Bales points to a culture built on transparency, trust and genuine investment in people. Profit sharing ensures that when the company wins, everyone wins. A hybrid work model offers flexibility that employees value. And regular check-ins keep communication open between leadership and staff, so no one feels like a number.
But it’s the smaller, more personal touches that seem to define the culture at Processor’s Choice. Every Thursday, the team gathers for lunch. This simple ritual fosters a camaraderie that can’t be manufactured. Quarterly family nights extend that sense of community beyond the office walls, welcoming the people who matter most to employees into the fold.
“We focus on empowering employees and fostering a family-like environment,” Bales said. For a company of 30 people, that’s not just a talking point – it’s a daily practice.
Growth and development are also central to the company’s culture. Processor’s Choice offers tuition reimbursement and a Learning Library to help employees advance their careers, and the company prioritizes local hiring, keeping its investment rooted in the community it calls home.
That community commitment extends beyond the workplace. Processor’s Choice actively supports the Backpack Buddies program, which provides meals to more than 700 children in St. Clair County each week. It’s a cause that aligns naturally with a company in the business of food and one that reflects the values Bales has worked to instill throughout the organization.
“We have a waiting list every month for employees who want to help pack backpacks,” Bales said. “People are always eager to support this project. It’s something we’re all so proud to be a part of.”
In an era when workplace culture has become a buzzword, Processor’s Choice offers an example of what it looks like when a company invests in its people. Three consecutive Top Workplace awards are the result of intentional leadership, a commitment to transparency and a belief that a thriving team and a thriving business are one and the same.
For St. Clair County, it’s a quiet source of pride worth celebrating.
Editor’s Note: Processor’s Choice is located in Moody. For more information, visit processorschoice.com.
