Celebrating Food from Farm to Plate

By: Elissa McLerran, Public Policy Communications Manager, Food Marketing Institute

It is no surprise that the supermarket industry is passionate about food. Every day our stores ensure customers have access to safe and affordable food and sell hundreds of healthy and delicious products. But do you ever stop to think about how that banana or gallon of milk makes it to the shelf and eventually to your table? That’s where farmers and ranchers come into play. Grocery stores are fortunate to work with some of the world’s best farmers and ranchers as supply chain partners to ensure that the products we have on the shelf are top quality. Today, on National Agriculture Day, FMI celebrates the entire supply chain from the ground to the refrigerator.

Like supermarkets, production agriculture has changed a lot over the years. What once was an extremely manual labor-focused industry has advanced into a more mechanized and technical one. Because of modernization and the tremendous work America’s farmers and ranchers do, we are able to have the luxury of abundance in choice in the supermarket aisle. Whether you shop based on dietary restrictions, budget maximization, or simply on taste preference, farmers and ranchers are able to fulfill consumers’ desires, and grocery stores help in catering to their customers’ needs. 

At FMI, we take the responsibility of food and nutrition very seriously. As discussions for the 2018 Farm Bill gear up, we look forward to engaging in dialogues with both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees to continue supporting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), work to reduce food waste, reduce consumer confusion in stores, and help shape Farm Bill policy to make the supply chain efficient, affordable and more transparent from farm to supermarket to plate. We appreciate all the hard work people across the agriculture industry do to feed, clothe and fuel our nation and our world.