Associations

ST. PAUL - Hastings, Minn.-based convenience store operator Tom Thumb Food Markets Inc. confirmed that it has ceased operations, closing the last of more than 100 stores in Minnesota under its banner, according to The Associated Press.

WASHINGTON - The House Education and the Workforce Committee today voted to reauthorize the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program for the next four years with reforms long sought by the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) to benefit both consumers in the program and the retailers that serve them.

WASHINGTON - The House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted this week to block frivolous obesity lawsuits against the restaurant and food manufacturing industries.

CHICAGO - The new president of the United Food and Commercial Workers union said a wave of grocery strikes in the Midwest and Northeast could be on the horizon despite ongoing negotiations in the regions, according to a report in the Chicago Tribune.

ALBANY, N.Y. - Golub Corp. president and c.e.o. Neil Golub, who leads the Price Chopper supermarket chain, is one of several retailers who are spearheading a $73,000 campaign to modify New York's liquor stores and distributors on the right to sell wine, reports local business publication The Business Review.

DES MOINES, Iowa - During an annual business meeting last weekend in Atlanta, pork producer delegates approved a proposal to reduce the current mandatory pork checkoff by $0.05 per $100 value of hogs sold. The reduction will only change when the written commitment to offset the funds producers voluntarily contribute to other industry needs exceeds $4.5 million on an annualized basis.

BOISE, Idaho - Albertsons Inc. announced on Friday that it is launching a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) program and will be using the technology to improve efficiencies in consumer demand chain management. The company expects its top 100 suppliers to be participating in the program at the case and pallet level by April 2005.

WASHINGTON - The food and beverage industry is committed to helping reverse the growth of obesity, the Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA) testified on Tuesday before a Senate hearing on combating obesity in America.