Jul 6, 2022
NGA Members Hold Over 100 Meetings with Members of Congress; Advocate for Enforcement of the Robinson-Patman Act to End Economic Discrimination NGA and its members have been engaged in a comprehensive campaign to end economic discrimination in the grocery industry over the last several years as the COVID-19 pandemic worsened conditions faced by America’s independent,…
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Jun 30, 2022
By Jim Dudlicek, NGA Director, Communications and External Affairs The recent tragedy at the Tops supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y., is a grim reminder that active shooters could appear anywhere, making it important for grocers to be aware of what they can do to minimize the impact of such attacks on associates and customers. NGA hosted…
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Jun 28, 2022
Jim Dudlicek, NGA Director, Communications and External Affairs Perception is important for any business, and if it’s inaccurate, it can damage a retailer’s relationship with those it serves. Today’s runaway inflation has folks scrambling to make ends meet, and many are looking for someone to blame – the government, the oil companies, any business seen…
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Jun 17, 2022
NGA’s 40th Anniversary Featured During Event as More than 2,700 Grocery Leaders Gathered For 40 years, The NGA Show has been the place where independents gather, bringing together retailers, wholesalers, food retail industry executives, food/CPG manufacturers, and service providers from across the United States. As NGA celebrates our 40th anniversary this year, the 2022 Show…
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Jun 16, 2022
By Jim Dudlicek NGA Director, Communications and External Affairs Inflation isn’t really helping anybody, but there’s a little good news for grocers: Dining out tops the list of consumer cutbacks. Unfortunately for basket rings, non-essential food is second on the household hit list as folks try to offset the rising cost of things they need…
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Jun 13, 2022
By Pat Jones, NGA Foundation TA Center Project Coordinator The Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) offers retailers a chance to provide extra food dollars to help low-income shoppers include more healthy fruits and vegetables in their diet. The National Grocers Association Foundation Technical Assistance Center (NGAF TA Center) partnered with the Hunger Solutions Institute at Auburn University to host…
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Jun 13, 2022
Jim Dudlicek, NGA Director, Communications and External Affairs Grocery operators are starting to focus more deeply on the wellbeing of their teams and engage in conversations around employee mental health in our industry. The NGA Foundation hosted a recent webinar that explored how organizations approach their employees’ mental health to ensure their teams have the…
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May 27, 2022
Jim Dudlicek, Director, Communications and External Affairs Attracting younger consumers is an opportunity that retailers continue to pursue, aiming to appeal to their desire to do business with companies that are about more than just business. One aspect of this mission appears to transcend age and is emerging as table stakes for any business claiming…
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May 23, 2022
By Dave Wendland, VP, Strategic Relations, Hamacher Resource Group Having recently had the opportunity to address a group of independent grocers during the National Grocers Association (NGA) show, I was quickly reminded of an old adage that goes something like, “Just when you think you have the key to success, somebody changes the lock.” This…
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May 13, 2022
By Ted Mason, Retail Technology Consultant As a food retailer, you may have already or soon will experience a customer presenting a new type of benefit card for payment in your store. These cards, often bearing the brands of major retailers, may be issued by health insurance companies, medical facilities or for over-the-counter (OTC) products…
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May 10, 2022
By Jill Hollingsworth, VP, Food Safety and Retail Industry Relations, Ecolab In recognition of Food Allergy Awareness Month, we are providing a brief refresher on the facts about food allergens and what retailers should know about this important issue. What are Food Allergens? Food allergens are food proteins that can cause an allergic reaction in…
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May 9, 2022
Jim Dudlicek, NGA Director, Communications and External Affairs The meat department is a point of differentiation – and one of pride – for many independent grocers. In-house butchers providing custom cuts from a full-service counter historically have been fixtures in community supermarkets. Meat sales were robust during the depths of the pandemic, and even as…
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May 3, 2022
By Pat Jones, Project Coordinator The National Grocers Association Foundation Technical Assistance Center (NGAF TA Center) will be partnering with the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative (IFAI) to offer a free webinar, “Help Promote Food Access in Indigenous Communities with GusNIP,” on May 16 at 4:30 p.m. EST. The purpose of this webinar is to…
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May 2, 2022
By Jim Dudlicek, NGA Director, Communications and External Affairs Online grocery shopping for pickup or delivery has surged in sales growth and household acceptance far beyond levels predicted before the pandemic. After two frantic years, that growth is stabilizing, but even as more consumers have resumed in-person shopping, expectations remain high both in-store and online.…
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Apr 25, 2022
By Pat Jones, NGAF TA Center Project Coordinator The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released the requests for application (RFA) for both the nutrition incentive and produce prescription grants funded through the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP). In this phase, non-profits and government agencies will pull together applications to receive nutrition incentive…
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Apr 25, 2022
By Jim Dudlicek, NGA Director, Communications and External Affairs When it comes to inflation, the light at the end of the tunnel increasingly resembles an oncoming train. The ingredients of a lingering pandemic, a labor shortage, high fuel prices and global turmoil have become a recipe for a miserable concoction that pleases no one’s palate.…
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Apr 20, 2022
Jim Dudlicek, NGA Director of Communications and External Affairs Gen Z – young people born between 1997 and 2012 – are the most racially and ethnically diverse of any generation. They are the first generation that has entirely grown up with the Internet. There are 67 million of them, and they are the future of…
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Apr 13, 2022
By Jim Dudlicek, Director of Communications and External Affairs The pandemic may not be officially over, with new variants still raising concerns. Yet even with lingering uncertainty, as well as rising food prices, consumers are saying they’re ready to host large gatherings again for the spring holidays, so independent grocers should be prepared to embrace…
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Apr 11, 2022
By Jill Hollingsworth, VP, Food Safety and Retail Industry Relations, Ecolab What is the Food Code? The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Food Code is a model code that encompasses guidelines and recommendations for best food safety practices to ensure that food offered at retail food establishments and in food service is safe, unadulterated, and honestly…
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Apr 11, 2022
By Jim Dudlicek, Director, Communications and External Affairs It’s probably no surprise that practically every day of every week of every month is the official national day, week or month for some type of food, providing a seemingly endless supply of marketing and merchandising opportunities for the independent grocery retailer. In addition to offering a…
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