Government Relations

VIDEO: Food Retailers and Government Work Together during COVID-19 Pandemic

In this video, FMI President and CEO Leslie Sarasin and Chief Public Policy Officer Jennifer Hatcher discuss the significant investments food retailers made in enhancing store safety measures and the industry’s partnership with government agencies ...

VIDEO: The Impact of Tax Increases on Food Retailers

Over the last year, America’s grocers stepped up and made the necessary investments to safely keep stores open and shelves stocked. Now, after one of the most challenging years for the food retail industry, lawmakers are proposing raising business ...

Strength and Resilience in the Food Supply Chain

During a recent White House roundtable on the supply chain, CEOs from FMI member companies Food Lion, Kroger, and Walmart all told President Biden the food supply chain is both resilient and robust to meet the needs of all Americans this December ...

Food Safety for E-Commerce Operations – Meeting Customer Expectations

Food delivery is not a new concept, but it expanded tremendously during the pandemic when consumers were seeking alternative ways to purchase food and household items as they reduced outings and shopping ...

Upending a 30-Year Tradition of a Low-Inflation Industry

Transitory, brief and fleeting are no longer adjectives that can be used to describe the current state of inflation affecting the economy. This news is reflected in recent statements by the Federal Reserve, as authorities indicate inflation will ...

A Shot in the Arm: Food Retail and Vaccine Booster Eligibility

Food industry workers have been a vital component of ensuring Americans have access to safe, nutritious and affordable food as well as other consumer products that have been indispensable to pandemic response. Fortunately, the federal government has ...

The Taxman Cometh: Reconciliation, Corporate Income Tax, and Food Retail

The United States Congress has begun, once again, an effort to reform the tax code, potentially raising the corporate income tax to 26.5% — along with a host of other changes — because of a perception that businesses aren't paying their fair share. ...

Ensuring Love’s Labor Isn’t Lost

This Labor Day, several dramatic elements are coming together in a way that should give the food industry new reasons to celebrate this holiday. Let me set the stage for you. The first dramatic element is a powerful back drop that has been ...

Wimpy’s Revenge: Multiemployer Pensions Plans and Special Financial Assistance

For decades, multiemployer pensions have been buffeted by economic and demographic headwinds that the people who created the system failed to foresee. For just as long, politicians have been promising to fix the system and secure these pensions for ...

Heavy Metals in Baby and Toddler Foods Explored at the FMI Legal, Compliance, and Regulatory Conference

As the food industry returns to some degree of normalcy, we are seeing renewed attention on a number of pre-pandemic issues. One of these topics is heavy metals in food, particularly those foods designed for infants and ...

The Potential Retail Repercussions of a Sluggish Vaccination Pace

As the Delta variant of COVID-19 rapidly spreads across the United States, governments in areas with low vaccination rates are grappling with their next steps toward preventing its spread and getting more people ...

Retail Stockpiling: Inventory Taxes, Just-in-Time and Beyond

In the grocery industry, inventory stockpiling can be an important hedge, but it can also be a costly one. Apart from production issues and supply chain bottlenecks that make securing large quantities of products more challenging for retailers, one ...

Can We Get to Zero Food Waste?

Last night at dinner, a family friend asked if it was true that around one-third of the food in this country is wasted. It was sobering to say yes. Estimates vary, but approximately 25-40% of food grown, processed and transported in the U.S. will ...

Lessons Learned: How to Strengthen the Supply Chain against Future Crises

FMI sprung at the chance to provide thorough feedback on behalf of the industry. Food retailers and wholesalers have been uniquely positioned during much of the pandemic, particularly as part of what became known as “critical infrastructure....

The Unintended Consequences of an Excise Tax

The COVID-19 pandemic forced unprecedented expenditures by state and local governments. Many cities and states now face an uncertain budget picture moving forward. Given this fiscal uncertainty, the FMI State Affairs team is on the lookout for any ...