Government Relations

Grocers in Government: Why Advocacy is a Key Ingredient for Successful Business

At the beginning of May, representatives from the grocery industry visited the nation’s capital for our annual supermarket Day in Washington fly-in, which is held in partnership with the National Grocers Association and Food Industry Association ...

Soda Taxes: Coming to a City Near You?

If you live near Chicago, Philadelphia, Santa Fe, Seattle, or in Northern California, you’ve probably heard a lot about soda or “sugar-sweetened beverage” taxes recently. If not, pay attention, since efforts to tax these items are a growing trend ...

FMI In the News: Congress should stand with Main Street, not Wall Street

The following opinion piece by Leslie Sarasin, president and CEO of Food Marketing Institute and Peter Larkin, president and CEO of National Grocers Association appeared in The Hill on May 3, 2017....

Photo Friday: Congressional Happenings on the West Coast with Northgate Gonzalez Market

The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) helped Northgate Gonzalez Market host Congressman Tony Cardenas (D-CA) on April 13 at store #24 in Norwalk, CA, where they showcased the mercado concept and talked through some of the more pressing issues impacting ...

30 Years and Counting: Modernizing the Tax Code

Doing your taxes is probably exceeded only by jury duty on the list of civic responsibilities people dread. The genesis of this anxiety is simple to trace - the United States has an outdated and unwieldy tax system that hasn’t been updated in over ...

Forecasting Food Policy

The food retail industry has experienced several years of new rulemakings and other regulatory actions on a scale unlike previous regulatory environments. In addition to the industry-supported Food Safety Modernization Act, new regulations cover a ...

Compliance & Enforcement: The Nuts & Bolts of Menu Labeling

Knowing if your grocery store is covered under the menu labeling regulations is the first step in the compliance process, but there are numerous other details affecting whether individual items must ...

Food Retailers: Seek out that Next Generation of Leaders

Food retailing is a diverse and remarkable industry that strives to make a difference in each local community it serves every day. The food retail industry employs more than 3.4 million individuals and brims with extremely talented individuals, ...

Celebrating Food from Farm to Plate

Grocery stores are fortunate to work with some of the world’s best farmers and ranchers as supply chain partners to ensure that the products we have on the shelf are top quality. Today, on National Agriculture Day, FMI celebrates the entire supply ...

Governors Outline Their Budget Priorities in "State of the State" Addresses

With President Donald J. Trump’s recent address to a Joint Session of Congress, there is no better time to highlight the similar speeches occurring across the states. With the exceptions of Louisiana and Ohio, whose governors will address their ...

Promoting the Importance of Debit Reforms in Your Networks

Thanks to modern technologies, engaging with customers, friends, elected officials and the media has become much easier, more efficient and more powerful. Retailers can use social media as a powerful driver to share their perspectives on the impact ...

Shaping Our Policy Priorities for the Year

Each year, FMI’s Government Relations department surveys its member companies to understand their policy and legislative priorities and how FMI can enhance our voice for food retail in Washington D.C. With a new presidential Administration and a new ...

Sharing the Grocers’ Perspective of SNAP with Congress

The U.S. House of Representatives Agriculture Committee held a hearing on the pros and cons of restricting SNAP food choice. FMI’s President and CEO Leslie Sarasin served as a witness for the hearing and shared the food retailer perspective on the ...

Where does Menu Labeling Fit into the White House and Congressional Agenda?

There has been a flurry of activity in the first month of the Trump administration and the 115th Congress with a corresponding need to figure out how all of these actions and issues affect food retailers. One question to ask: Where does FDA’s menu ...

An “Outlook” Into the 50 State Legislatures

In 2017, FMI expects to sift through some 5,000 state bills of relevance to the grocery industry. To help our members wade through this yearly tsunami of bills, coupled with political changes, FMI releases the State Legislative Outlook every January....