Aug 16, 20242 min read

The FMI State Issues Retreat is an annual event that brings together food retail grocery associations and food and grocery company professionals from across the country to discuss important state legislative and regulatory issues. This year's Retreat convened in Leesburg, Va., on August 5-7, bringing together approximately 50 representatives from 21 state associations and 15 FMI retailer/wholesaler and product supplier members.

During the conference, attendees discussed critical topics such as workforce and labor, ingredient bans, baby food testing and labeling, sustainability, swipe fees on sales tax, artificial intelligence, retail crime including cargo theft and ORC, and more.

Participants also heard Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Joe Guthrie provide an update on efforts his agency is taking to grow Virginia’s agriculture sector. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Director of Retailer Policy and Management, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Andrea Gold also spoke on USDA’s summer EBT initiative and ongoing efforts to migrate SNAP magnetic stripe cards to chip cards.

FMI also presented the Donald H. MacManus Award to Rob Ikard, president and CEO of the Tennessee Grocers & Convenience Store Association (TGCSA), and Rob Karr, president and CEO of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA for their extraordinary achievements in public affairs.

mg-caption:Attendees discussed topics critical to the food industry over the three-day event.

mg-caption:Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Joe Guthrie talked about programs supporting the state’s agriculture sector.

mg-caption:Rob Ikard of TGCSA (left) and Rob Karr of IRMA (right) received this year’s MacManus Award.