Arlington, VA – The National Grocers Association (NGA), the national trade association representing the independent supermarket industry, today released the following statement from NGA President and CEO Peter Larkin regarding the release of S. _, the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, also known as the Farm Bill from the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry:
“We thank Chairman Roberts and Ranking Member Stabenow for their hard work and efforts to bring forward a Farm Bill that maintains the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s strong public-private partnership between retailers and the federal government. The Farm Bill is a critical piece of legislation that brings certainty to multiple stakeholders within the food and agriculture supply chain and we urge Congress to pass a bill prior to the September 30 deadline.
“As the leading trade association representing the independent supermarket industry, NGA is working to advance policies that will protect and enable the sector to grow and better serve the communities in which independent grocers operate. The version of the Farm Bill as approved by the House Agriculture Committee included important measures that received bipartisan support and we will work to incorporate these provisions into the final piece of legislation.”
Top legislative priorities include:
- Protections for private SNAP retailer sales data
- Preservation of consumer choice in SNAP
- Prohibition of any new fees or excessive reporting mandates
- An expanded Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) program
