Arlington, VA –National Grocers Association (NGA) President and CEO Peter Larkin released the following statement after President Trump signed the 2018 Farm Bill:
“Today, President Trump signed a Farm Bill into law that strengthens the SNAP public-private partnership between the federal government and independent supermarket operators and provides certainty throughout the country and provides certainty for the various stakeholders within the food supply chain. Independent grocers are the backbone of their community and are essential in the SNAP food delivery system. We appreciate the leadership of Senate and House Agriculture Chairmen Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Mike Conaway (R-TX) and Ranking Members Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Collin Peterson (D-MN) for their efforts throughout this process.”
The 2018 Farm Bill contains the following victories for independents:
- Rejects the Administration’s Harvest Box proposal that would convert 40 percent of SNAP program benefits into a government-run home food delivery service that would have cost over 200,000 supermarket industry jobs
- Rejects a push by a credit card network to repeal the longstanding prohibition on interchange fees
- Permanently extends the temporary ban on EBT processing fees
- Rejects the Administration’s SNAP application fee proposal requiring retailers to pay a tax on store EBT transaction volume
- Invests millions of new dollars in a Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) program (aka “Double Up Food Bucks”) and expands opportunities for supermarkets through a new retail-focused healthy food incentive program
- Preserves the choices of SNAP customers without restricting purchases to certain categories of food products
- Expands nutrition education programs, such as SNAP Ed
- Provides financing to grocery stores that locate in food deserts via the Healthy Food Financing Initiative
- Expands workforce development and employment training programs, potentially giving grocers an opportunity to access an expanding workforce
