Government Relations

Retailers Discuss the Promise and Pitfalls of Local Preemption at the FMI State Issues Retreat

From plastic bag bans to beverage taxes, minimum wage increases to mandatory scheduling requirements, issues that impact retailers are increasingly emanating not just from Washington, D.C. and state capitols, but from city councils and mayors’ ...

What Does Renewable Energy Mean for Food Retail?

In the last decade, food retailers have made notable efforts in the area of renewable energy to reduce the environmental impact caused from operation expenses....

FMI State Issues Retreat: Where Grocers Go To Learn About State and Local Issues

To assist our members in making sense of this legislative chaos, FMI holds the State Issues Retreat in August, an annual conference that brings together food retail grocery associations and grocery company government relations professionals from ...

Photo Friday: Congressional Visit to Stater Bros. Markets

FMI was pleased to help organize a visit to Stater Bros. Markets for Congresswoman Norma Torres (D-CA-35) on July 7th at the Schaefer Avenue store in Chino, California, part of the Congresswoman’s ...

The Transformation of the Farm Bill

In the agriculture and food industries, the Farm Bill is one of the single most important pieces of legislation the industries operate under. To people inside the Beltway and out in the fields, farm policy discussions are commonplace, but what about ...

Buying the Luxury of Time to Think

The luxury of reflection and leisurely consideration is disappearing as we seek to do business in a world requiring us to stay two steps ahead or risk quickly finding ourselves three paces behind. At FMI, we have redoubled our efforts at identifying ...

In-Store Pharmacies Are Just What the Customer Ordered

Oliver Wyman reports that more than 1,600 retail locations are now home to healthcare clinics, and an increasing number of pharmacy, supermarket and mass chains have entered the healthcare space. Shoppers desire convenience, access and transparency ...

K-VA-T’s Omnichannel Approach to National Family Meals Month™

Food City was selected for a Gold Plate Award for their omnichannel campaign that excelled in community outreach. To educate and engage their consumers, Food City used in-store, social media, print, and community strategies to spread the message of ...

Advocacy: There’s An App for That

The FMI Advocacy app provides members and supporters with resources to successfully advocate to Congress, from Washington, D.C. or back in the home states and ...

FDA Provides Protections and Opportunities to Make Menu Labeling Successful in Supermarkets

In early May FDA formally extended the menu labeling rule compliance date until May 7, 2018, due to substantive regulatory and enforcement concerns expressed by many food retailers. But even more important, FDA has opened a 60-day comment period to ...

The New Food Safety Testing Gold Standard: Whole Genome Sequencing

While the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 (FSMA) has updated U.S. food safety regulations, an emerging technology, known as whole genome sequencing (WGS), is revolutionizing outbreak investigations to more rapidly identify and prevent ...

Are you Prepared for FSVP Compliance? Compliance begins May 30

The first compliance dates for FDA’s FSMA rule on Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP) for importers of food for humans or animals begin May 30, 2017. The FSVP rule requires importers who are covered by the rule to have risk-based programs ...

What the Tax on Imports Means for Your Business

The Trump administration is now past the “first 100 days” and looking to engage on longer-term issues. Congressional Republicans and the President have identified tax reform as one of their top priorities and are beginning to firm up plans for how ...

Making the Connection with Storytelling

In any organization, the power of storytelling transcends not only audiences but departments. It’s an effective communication tool that connects individuals to one another through the opportunity to frame relatable experiences. ...

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 ...