The National Grocers Association

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March 2, 2018

Dear Member of Congress:

The National Grocers Association (NGA) is the national trade association representing the retail and wholesale grocers that comprise the independent sector of the food distribution industry, accounting for over $131 billion in annual sales and nearly 1 million American jobs. Independent grocers are a proud partner with the federal government in ensuring low-income Americans have access to a variety of affordable foods through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The undersigned organizations, comprised of independent retailers and wholesalers from all 50 States, strongly oppose replacing household SNAP benefits with a government-run direct food distribution service.

As you know, the Administration’s fiscal year 2019 budget proposes to restructure the SNAP program by replacing about 40 percent of household SNAP benefits with a government-run “Harvest Box” distribution service. Instead of letting households use their SNAP benefits at their local grocery store, SNAP funding would be used to send eligible households a box of non- perishable food items. We believe that putting the government in charge of nutrition benefit distribution fails to appreciate the free-market, competitive efficiencies achieved through the successful public-private SNAP partnership. History demonstrates that when the government doles out food, not only is it inefficient and more expensive to the taxpayer, but low-income populations also end up hungry and malnourished.

In the 1960s, Congress passed the Food Stamp Act to help both the Nation’s poor and struggling farmers. During and after the Great Depression, farmers were producing more food than the nation could consume or export, while many impoverished Americans had little access to government-run surplus food programs. Once Food Stamps were introduced nationwide, food insecurity quickly diminished and new market opportunities became available to agriculture producers. Grocery stores began locating in areas of the country that lacked access to food retail stores, and overall quality of life improved for low-income Americans.

If the distribution of nutritional benefits reverted to the responsibility of the federal government, this would be a major step backwards. Nutritional food access challenges would grow worse throughout the country, as supermarkets would struggle to survive in underserved communities. Not only would this exacerbate the food desert problem, but it would also negatively impact ancillary economic activity in many communities where the local economy is heavily reliant on the success of Main Street supermarkets. Fierce competition among food retailers, which operate on less than 2 percent net profit margins, drives consumer prices down and ultimately benefits those on a tight budget. Without competitive forces involved in the market for food, there is little doubt that such a proposal would increase food insecurity.

Government-run food distribution is also logistically impossible. While the government currently operates surplus commodity food programs, it lacks the operational capacity or infrastructure to meet the nutritional needs of all low-income citizens. If the States were tasked with distributing nutrition benefits, few would have the resources available to reach every beneficiary. Congregate feeding sites would need to be utilized, meaning many SNAP recipients would have to travel long distances to receive nutrition benefits. This would disadvantage participants with limitations, such as working families with children, the elderly, and the disabled. Finally, by pre- selecting the items in each box, the government would also have to determine how to adequately provide nutrition benefits to those with health challenges or diet restrictions.

Instead of pursuing radical changes to the SNAP program, we recommend that Congress build on its successes and work with food retailers to address our current challenges. Food access programs like the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive program and the Healthy Food Financing Initiative have increased purchases of nutritious and healthful foods and helped supermarkets expand to underserved areas that lack access to quality food products. We also ask for your support for innovative e-commerce delivery solutions, such as the SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot, which will allow SNAP beneficiaries to participate in the emerging online food retail marketplace.

We appreciate Congress’s decades-long recognition that supermarkets remain an indispensable private sector partner in the successful public-private partnership of the SNAP program. The undersigned organizations stand ready to assist Congress to find additional solutions that address food insecurity in America. We respectfully request that you oppose any proposal that abandons free-market, competitive principles in favor of a less effective and less efficient government-run solution.

Thank you for your consideration of our request.

Sincerely,

cc: The Honorable Sonny Perdue The Honorable Mick Mulvaney

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