SNAP Crisis Impact: Urgent Plea from Independent Grocers to Legislators

IGA is working with industry partners and policy advocates at the National Grocers Association (NGA) and Food Industry Association (FMI) to ensure legislators understand how vital SNAP is to the health of local economies. As we continue our work to resolve this matter, please see the below open letter from IGA CEO John Ross to U.S. legislators.

This week across America, SNAP cards are empty. And unless the government reopens, SNAP recipients will receive only partial benefits for the entire month of November. 

As our legislators fight over the government shutdown, the nearly 13% of our country who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to help them feed themselves and their families are left to largely fend for themselves.

The question is: do legislators care? They should. 69% of the people receiving SNAP are children, people with disabilities, or the elderly.

As independent grocers we know the plight of the remaining 31%. Most SNAP recipients (92%) work and earn income at or below the poverty line, which is not enough to feed their families. A big chunk are enlisted service people with children, who on their military salaries alone cannot afford to put food on the table.

Politics is not an issue here. Both sides of the aisle seem bent on using the government shutdown to rally their base, all the while putting our most vulnerable population at risk.

And all this is happening when food prices continue to set new records. Inflation in groceries is up 3% from last year; it’s almost 4% in restaurants. A basket of groceries that cost $100 in 2019 is now at least $132. And it's only rising.

Don’t blame your independent grocers, though. On a good day, independent owners clear 2%. Two pennies per dollar of sales. At best. And today, that number is sliding, probably lower than at any time in the last seven years. With credit card swipe fees between 2-4% per transaction, Visa and Mastercard make more per sale than your local grocery store.

It’s a hard conversation to have with your customer, though — they come in with less to spend, but higher prices everywhere. You can’t have conversations about global food effects, tariffs, inflation, diesel surcharges, or credit-card interchange fees in the aisle with a shopper who is angry about the price of eggs or ground beef.

That’s because they are angry about the cost of literally everything. Housing costs, especially rent, continue to set new records. The costs of automobiles, health insurance, education, and utilities are not decreasing and are likely to increase.

It’s especially concerning for the working poor, where no matter how hard they try, they can’t seem to get ahead. Or for young people who are often burdened by decades of student loan repayments, in addition to all the other costs of becoming a grown-up. All in a world where everything is more expensive than it was for their parents, as a percentage of income.

Meanwhile food banks, churches, and NGOs are trying to figure out how they can help feed the neediest when donations across the country are as challenged as everything else in the economy.

So, Democrats, Republicans, congresspeople, and senators, please, don’t hold needy Americans hostage. Pass legislation that will keep SNAP funded as you work out the rest of the government shutdown issues.

While you are it, why not ask some retailers and wholesalers to advise you on how to truly lower the cost of food in the USA. I promise you, the people who actually know something about food will be happy to help reduce costs almost immediately.

A couple of suggestions to get us rolling – lower the diesel fuel federal tax rate back to the same cost as regular gasoline. That would gut 2-3% of food transportation inflation right off the bat. And cap credit card fees on groceries to the same rate as most developed nations across the world, there is another 2-3% off the top. Immediately.

Trust me, Mastercard and Visa, with their gross profit margins between 70-97%, can afford it.

Meanwhile, the retailers and wholesalers who make up one third of all grocery sales in the United States are doing what we can – more sale items, more trade promotions, inflation fighters, private label substitution and more.

Legislators, now it’s time to do your part!