The Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association brought members of the state’s food and beverage industry together Oct. 13-14 for its 2026 Fall Legislative Conference at Hershey Country Club, with discussions on pricing, Pennsylvania’s 2026 election cycle, federal policy and issues affecting wholesalers, retailers and suppliers.
“Our members came to Hershey with real questions about pricing, elections and federal policy,” said Alex Baloga, president and CEO of PFMA. “These sessions gave them useful context on those issues and time to talk directly with people working on them.”
The conference opened with a PFMA board meeting and a wholesalers meeting, where Brian Weinhaus, director of PMI’s illicit trade prevention section, discussed illicit trade and its impact on distribution, supply chain operations and regulatory challenges.
In “The Facts About Pricing,” Kathy Hayden and Ellen Smith of Inmar Intelligence, Andy Harig of FMI and Jessica Jacoby Lemos of UNFI examined modern pricing strategies and the growing policy debate surrounding dynamic pricing and surveillance pricing, working to separate fact from myth for businesses, policymakers and consumers.
Tuesday evening, PFMA honored Michael Gould of Core-Mark with the Lisa Dell’Alba Food Industry Trailblazer Award, which recognizes leadership, contributions to the industry and longstanding commitment to Pennsylvania’s food and beverage industry.
Wednesday’s programming featured a state election update with Christopher Nicholas and Brittany Crampsie, who examined Pennsylvania’s 2026 election cycle and the political environment heading into the final weeks before Election Day. The conference concluded with a federal policy update from Stephanie Johnson of the National Grocers Association, Harig of FMI and Nick Johns of the Consumer Brands Association on the issues food businesses should be watching in Washington.
Founded in 1952, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania-based PFMA represents nearly 500 member companies that operate thousands of retail food stores, production facilities and distribution centers and collectively employ more than 350,000 Pennsylvanians.