Government Relations

FYI: Additional SNAP Funds Headed to a State Near You

Congress implemented several changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the recently enacted Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The emergency allotments for current SNAP beneficiaries is one we want to make sure your ...

Keeping the Food Supply Chain Nimble

Last Friday, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued an emergency declaration that allows for motor carriers to be exempted from existing hours of service requirements for those responding to COVID-19 (Coronavirus) support....

Grocery Stores Remain Constant in Times of Need

Even amidst numerous state emergency declarations relative to mass gatherings impacting restaurants and bars, the White House re-emphasized that grocery stores will remain open during this national emergency....

It's A “SNAP” To Order Online and Pay At Store

FMI members are watching the pilot closely and awaiting their turn to enter the ecommerce market. While others are experimenting with different ways to serve their SNAP customers, FNS has permitted retailers to enable “click, collect and pay” for ...

The 2020 Strategic Playbook For The Food Industry

FMI and Oliver Wyman’s annual journal publication Boardroom provides a starting point. In fact, volume 5 of the journal is a strategic playbook for the emerging issues a food retailer or supplier should be discussing in their boardrooms—that’s how ...

What Shoppers Say About Produce Packaging

Shoppers are pushing back on plastic waste, but many consumers do recognize packaging can be important when it comes to product shelf life, food safety, in-store conditions, product information, portability and more. This is particularly true for ...

Current Congressional Rundown of Super Tuesday

We are just days away from Super Tuesday. Yes, we’re hearing a lot of news about the presidential election but let us not forget that there are 35 Senate seats and 435 House seats up for election, ...

Aligning Federal Programs with the Evolving Marketplace

FMI is focused on ensuring our members can reach and serve all their customers, regardless of how they pay or shop for their grocery items. FMI's Omnishopper Imperatives for Food Retailers study estimates online and in-store spending for food and ...

Numbers Don’t Lie: Grocery Remains A Steady Hand in Developing the Workforce of Tomorrow

Numbers don’t lie. The food retail industry knows where its strength lies and is making the investment in upgrading skills and technology to develop the workforce of the future. When it comes to our business model, nothing could be more fundamental. ...

Over 250 State and Local Plastics Bills Pending – New FMI Resource Available to Assist

The real story of the 2020 state legislative sessions may be that some states are seeking to move beyond bans on specific products like plastic bags or polystyrene containers to impose comprehensive regulatory frameworks for managing the disposal of ...

Our 2020 Government Affairs Priorities

A new year, an updated brand and a forward-looking list of priorities in the public policy arena. FMI’s government affairs team surveys our member companies annually to help us with this review and ensure that our policy priorities reflect the views ...

FMI 2020 50 State Outlook Shows Labor, Sustainability Bills Expected and New Issues Too

As of this week, 39 state legislatures are actively meeting and will address many issues as laid out in the FMI 50 State Outlook. An annual publication, FMI interviews state grocer and retail associations as well as FMI members on what issues they ...

Monitoring SNAP Policy Implications for Food Retail

Over the past year, USDA and other agencies have announced proposed rules changes for SNAP participation. FMI has tracked these changes and provided commented on key issues that could affect our industry. We highlighted a few proposals we’re ...

What’s In A Brand?

Life is full of circumstances and situations that prompt us to evaluate our personal brand and make necessary changes, adapting to a new position or setting by shifting our brand. Sometimes these involve small adjustments and sometimes we must ...

Smarter Food Safety: Emerging Technologies, Smarter Tools for Prevention, Evolving Business Models, and Food Safety Culture

Our “New Era of Food Safety" comments focus on several key principles, including focusing on outcomes; leveraging existing tools; increasing communications with stakeholders; accounting for the food industry’s variable resources and abilities; and ...