News

NRA joins campaign to revisit food-to-fuel mandates

June 12, 2008

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Restaurant Association continued to express concern over increasing wholesale food and commodity prices and the resulting dire impact on the restaurant industry. The Association's most recent monthly survey of restaurateurs showed that operators are greatly worried about increasing food prices, with 21 percent of restaurant operators identifying food costs as their top challenge.

Several factors are contributing to the dramatic rise in food costs, including higher oil and energy prices; the growing global demand from rapidly developing economies; a weak U.S. dollar; and the diversion of a larger share of the grain market into fuel production. In an effort to encourage Congress to revisit these policies, the Association has joined the Food Before Fuel Campaign — a partnership of more than 20 environmental, retail, hunger, Hispanic and food industry groups.

The campaign was created to urge public officials to revisit and restructure mandates, subsidies, and tariffs to reduce our dependence on food as an energy source and to accelerate the development of alternative fuels that do not pit energy needs against the needs of the hungry and the environment.

"America's restaurants are facing a sluggish economy, high gas prices, and skyrocketing food prices — now regarded by many of our members as the No. 1 threat to their businesses," said Michelle Reinke, director of legislative affairs for the National Restaurant Association. "Food and beverage costs account for 33 cents of every dollar in restaurant sales. In an industry operating on slim margins, these drastic price increases are a real challenge."

Last month, Washington, D.C., restaurateur Geoff Tracy, a member of the NRA, testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business about the detrimental impact the continuing, steep climb in food prices is having on restaurants and how Congress can provide relief.