Table of Contents
ARLINGTON, Va. – In a speech this week, President Donald Trump referred to groceries as “an old-fashioned” yet “beautiful term,” sparking widespread discussion. While opinions on the president’s policies remain divided, Leslie G. Sarasin, President and CEO of FMI, wholeheartedly agreed with one aspect of his statement.
“Groceries are beautiful,” Sarasin wrote in a post today on FMI's Voice of the Food Industry blog, emphasizing their essential role in American life.
“In our highly polarized world, food — and specifically the family meals we prepare at home from food purchased at the grocery store — is one of the few things we can count on to bring us all together. From families gathering around the dinner table to catch up after work and school to holiday meal celebrations that bring together multiple generations of family and friends, groceries are at the heart of so many of the most beautiful moments of our lives,” she wrote.
“Groceries also have the power to heal, nourish, comfort, and energize. From the comfort of a hot cup of tea on a rainy day to the generosity of a homemade dish donated to a community bake sale, the sense of pride from preparing a plate for a potluck dinner party to the joy of a parent teaching a child how to make a cherished family recipe, there truly is beauty in the groceries we purchase and transform into nutritious, delicious, nostalgic dishes,” Sarasin wrote.
However, she also warned that tariffs could drive up grocery costs, making it harder for American families to put food on the table. “We encourage the President to utilize grocers, and the food industry as a whole, to better understand how tariffs could actually increase prices, squeeze household budgets that are already stretched thin, and make it harder for the entire American food industry, including grocers and food suppliers who operate on thin margins (1.6% and 7.5%, respectively), to compete,” Sarasin urged.
A recent FMI Grocery Shopper Snapshot survey found that 54% of consumers listed tariffs on imported food as their biggest concern regarding grocery prices, an increase of five percentage points since January. While goods under the USMCA remain tariff-free, the FMI president and CEO pointed out that certain items like bananas and mangoes, which cannot be grown in North America, may still face price increases due to trade restrictions.
With inflation already impacting household budgets, Sarasin emphasized the need to protect grocers, who work on slim margins. “Maintaining the centuries-old trust between grocers and shoppers is more crucial now than ever, especially given the inflationary fatigue that consumers continue to experience,” she said.
As the U.S. navigates evolving trade policies, Sarasin reaffirmed the food industry’s commitment to working with the administration. “The entire food industry — and grocers in particular — remain committed to being a source of information for the Trump administration about consumer sentiment regarding tariffs and other issues impacting the economy and grocery prices,” she concluded.
