The Friday Checkout is a weekly column providing more insight on the news, rounding up the announcements you may have missed and sharing what’s to come.
High grocery prices have been the talk of the town among consumers this year and gained national political attention. As the presidential election nears, issues such as government assistance benefits, antitrust enforcement and tariffs could have significant impacts on the grocery industry, depending on who is elected to the White House.
Democratic nominee Kamala Harris made waves when she proposed a “grocery price-gouging ban” as part of her economic platform, but it’s unclear what this ban would entail and how it would work. In her economic policy plan, Harris vowed to “invest in building resilient food supply chains” as well as “revitalize competition in food and grocery prices,” which would include funding for small grocers and growers.
Republican nominee Donald Trump said at a September campaign event that he would lower grocery costs by placing tariffs on food imports — a proposal decried by economists. The U.S. imports about 15% of its food supply, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
On the antitrust front, the Biden administration, which Harris is currently a part of, has ramped up efforts to go after behaviors it claims are anti-competitive. The Federal Trade Commission’s challenge to the Kroger-Albertsons merger is the biggest such crackdown in the grocery industry. The Justice Department has also recently gone after meatpackers.
During Trump’s presidency, major antitrust cases focused on big tech companies, such as Google and Facebook. Trump’s running mate JD Vance has praised FTC Chair Lina Khan, who was appointed by the Biden administration.
Finally, the candidates appear to wildly differ on SNAP benefits. In 2019, the Trump administration proposed a controversial plan to tighten rules for obtaining SNAP benefits, which the Biden administration nixed. Trump’s 2021 budget proposed to cut SNAP by more than $180 billion — nearly 30% — over the next 10 years, according to nonpartisan institute Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Harris, who has a track record of introducing several social welfare bills while in the Senate, supported an expansion of SNAP that would have increased benefits to children by 27%, The Duke Chronicle reported.
In case you missed it
Brookshire Grocery Co. acquires four West Texas locations
The company is acquiring four Shoppin’ Baskit locations in Ranger, Coleman, Ballinger and De Leon, Texas, with plans to convert them into Spring Market stores, local news outlet Coleman Today reported Monday.
Each location will temporarily close starting in early December with the goal of reopening under the new name within a few days, the news outlet noted. Brookshire also partnered with Ace Hardware for the expansion in order to continue offering that company’s products in the Ballinger store.
Where Amazon’s former top grocery exec is going next
Tony Hoggett, who announced last week his departure from Amazon after three years overseeing the company’s grocery stores, will leave behind the grocery industry entirely in his next move.
Fortune reported Monday that Hoggett will join delivery-focused restaurant chain Wonder as its chief operating officer. In that role, he will oversee technology, supply chain and logistics, and culinary engineering divisions as well as run the company’s real estate and store operations teams.
Wonder founder and CEO Marc Lore told Fortune that Hoggett’s hire does not indicate the company, which owns Blue Apron, will expand into grocery, noting that Hoggett brings expertise in opening and running tech-enabled storefronts.
The Fresh Market moves into former Dom’s location
It’s time for the Chicago area to officially move on from Dom’s Kitchen & Market and welcome The Fresh Market. The specialty grocer has set up shop in the former Dom’s debut location at 2730 N. Halsted St. and held a grand opening on Wednesday, Block Club Chicago reported Tuesday.
The opening marks The Fresh Market’s fifth location in Illinois. It has a sixth Chicago-area store “coming soon” to Naperville, according to its website.
Impulse find
You are what you eat this Halloween
An Austin, Texas, resident and H-E-B fan decided to turn herself into a package of H-E-B butter tortillas this Halloween — and the internet ate it up.
Complete with the logo, nearly identical packaging text, a plastic bag and a tub of H-E-B queso as an accessory, the artist and creator, Sarah Baumann, posted the journey of making this costume herself on Instagram, noting she primarily used recycled materials.
H-E-B followed this process, which took just shy of a month, and commented on Baumann’s first and last posts that narrated the costume’s creation. The final verdict from the grocer: Baumann “Left no crumbs.”
