By Mike Beal
Balls Food Stores had the privilege of hosting our hometown member of Congress, U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner, for a visit to our Price Chopper store in Leavenworth, Kan.
It was a worthwhile experience, because there’s really no better way to help lawmakers understand what it means to be an independent community grocer than to invite them into one of your stores. They’ll be able to see exactly what we do and its impact on the community, and the challenges we face in serving these folks, our friends and neighbors.
Rep. LaTurner told us about his first job working in a grocery store where he grew up and mentioned it helped him learn a strong work ethic and to relate to people when he regularly interacted with the public. The congressman wanted to help our customers check out their groceries, so he helped bag their orders. It brought a huge smile to his face and really impressed our customers when I mentioned to them who was bagging their groceries.
All in all, it was a win-win situation for our company, our customers and Rep. LaTurner.
So, if you’re thinking about hosting a member of Congress, my best advice is to invite them to your business and offer to show them around your store and talk to your employees and customers. It’s a great opportunity to explain the complexities of our industry and how unnecessary regulations complicate our business, add to our costs and hinder our competitiveness with the much larger grocery players in the market who get unfair advantages compared to the independent grocer.
I’ve seen how things work in Washington. I’ve even testified before Congress in support of SNAP, one of the issues that’s so important to our industry. Having Washington see how things work back home can help seal the deal.
Hosting a store tour is easy – just fill out this form and the NGA staff will take care of the rest.
Don’t let NGA’s August Month of Action pass by without doing your part to support your industry!
Mike Beal is chief operating officer of Kansas City, Kan.-based Balls Food Stores.
