Food Authority, Oceanside, N.Y., refreshed and expanded its fleet with 66 new refrigerated heavy duty vehicles under a full-service lease from Ryder System, Inc., Miami, Fla. Food Authority is a family-owned and operated foodservice provider that distributes produce and grocery products to Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, District of Columbia and Pennsylvania.

The vehicles have been specified with Certified Clean Idle engines and upgraded programmable transmissions to reduce emissions and fuel consumption.

“Many of our restaurant and grocery customers are focused on being more sustainable and expanding their offerings to include fresh, local and organic products,” says Dennis Reutter, executive vice president for Food Authority. “We are committed to supporting their efforts by delivering their food using a safe, environmentally-sound fleet of vehicles.”

The Certified Clean Idle engines deliver the best-in-class fuel economy and performance while complying with the EPA’s newest and most stringent emissions standards—the lowest diesel emission levels in the world. The engines are equipped with Particulate Matter Filters and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology that reduce emissions to near-zero levels, emitting 99% less Particulate Matter (PM) and Nitrous Oxide (NOx) than the predecessors. The new automatic transmissions provide seamless full-power shifts to ensure the most efficient operation of the engine. In addition, all of the vehicles are equipped with RydeSmart, Ryder’s full-featured GPS fleet location, tracking and vehicle performance management system. RydeSmart enables customers to achieve a 10-15% reduction in fuel and CO2 consumption by monitoring idle time, speed, hard braking events and other activities that impact fuel consumption. Since Food Authority makes its deliveries to residential areas in the evening, reducing its fleet’s noise footprint is another high priority. The new equipment also includes an acoustic sound reduction system to lower the sound level output from the refrigeration units.

“Being environmentally responsible for our customers is a promise we’re able to live up to with Ryder’s help,” adds Reutter. “These new vehicles have allowed us to become more fuel efficient and leave behind a smaller environmental footprint than before.”