programs

Combined Grocery/Pharmacy Council Meeting

Great News! We have just confirmed that Representative Steve Crisafulli (R-Merritt Island), Chairman of the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Subcommittee, has accepted an invitation to speak at the Grocery/Pharmacy Council meeting and share his views on the food industry in the state of Florida. That committee has jurisdiction over most issues dealing with the grocery industry. To view the tentative meeting agenda, please click.

During FRF's upcoming Retail Days at the Capitol, we have scheduled a combined meeting of FRF's Pharmacy Council and Grocery Council. This meeting is scheduled to take place on Monday, February 21st, in the Sunrise in the Horizon Ballroom of the Duval Hotel, from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.

We have invited Mike Joyner, Assistant Commissioner/Chief of Staff, Florida Department of Agriculture, who will give us an overview of the department under the new administration, and Dr. Marion Aller, Acting Deputy Commissioner, Florida Department of Agriculture, to talk about trends in food safety inspection. We are also grateful that Bill Eustis, WIC Florida Vendor Management Supervisor, will be able to attend to give us an update on continuing issues WIC is facing. There will be a discussion of regulatory reform, and we will have additional items included in the final agenda.

Concerning the WIC program, there was a recent public records request made to the Florida Department of Health to study the feasibility and costs and benefits of implementing WIC EBT in Florida. To view the results so far of this Florida WIC EBT Planning and Feasibility Study, please click. Mr. Eustis will discuss their efforts in this area.

We urge you to attend this important meeting to support our efforts to unify Florida's grocery industry. We hope you have registered to attend the whole FRF Retail Days at the Capitol meeting. If not and you would like to attend the combined Grocery/Pharmacy Council meeting, there is no registration fee and the deadline has not passed.

We hope you will be able to join us. Don't hesitate to contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have any questions (850.222.4082).