During The NGA Show in Las Vegas, the National Grocers Association (NGA) introduced Fair Markets, Fresh Choices, an advocacy campaign that spotlights and demands a level playing field in the food retail industry for independent grocers.
Independent community supermarkets – many of them family or employee owned – are the backbone of neighborhoods across America, ensuring local economies thrive and consumers have access to fresh, affordable food. Yet, these essential businesses have been forced to compete under unfair conditions for too long.
Mega retailers exploit their outsized market power to sidestep fair pricing laws, credit card giants impose exorbitant fees that drive up consumer costs and government agencies tie up independent businesses with excessive red tape that stifles growth and limits consumer choice.
These systemic imbalances harm independent grocers and the American families who rely on them every day.
“While independent grocers are innovating, investing and serving their communities, powerful mega chains manipulate the system to protect their monopolies at the expense of hardworking Americans,” said NGA President and CEO Greg Ferrara.
“Fair competition is a fundamental pillar of our economy and essential for a robust Main Street. When small businesses and local entrepreneurs have a level playing field to compete on, American communities prosper, jobs grow and consumers benefit. Our new campaign aims to educate and inform both lawmakers and everyday Americans about these imbalances and what can be done to fix them.”
The Fair Markets, Fresh Choices campaign challenges these anti-competitive practices, bringing real-world stories from independent grocers to the forefront. It highlights the urgent need for:
- Strictly enforcing antitrust laws to end harmful pricing schemes that disadvantage independent businesses and consumers and prevent the free market from working.
- Reforming credit card processing fees, stopping financial giants from siphoning billions in hidden costs from retailers and customers.
- Eliminating counterproductive government restrictions that stifle Main Street businesses with costly and unnecessary regulations that ultimately drive up food costs.
- Ending government overreach that restricts Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants from making their own food choices based on their individual dietary needs.
“With this campaign, we are making it clear: independent grocers are not asking for special treatment – we are simply demanding fair treatment,” said NGA Chief Government Relations Officer Chris Jones. “We won’t allow unchecked buying power, regulatory overreach and anti-competitive practices to dictate the future of food access and consumer choice.”
Together with the collective voices of independent grocers across the country, and through strategic advocacy, compelling storytelling and an unwavering commitment to our members and their communities, NGA is ensuring that independent grocers are heard – on Capitol Hill, in regulatory agencies and the White House.
Learn more about Fair Markets, Fresh Choices here.
[RELATED: Independent Grocers’ 2025 Policy Priorities: Fairer, More Competitive Marketplace]