I come from a family of grocers.For generations, my family ran a neighborhood grocery store in New Orleans, the kind of place where you knew your customers by name, where the produce came in fresh that morning, and where the store was as much a part of the community as the church down the street or the school around the corner.
That store didn't survive Hurricane Katrina in 2005.But what it stood for never left me.
A grocery store isn't just a place to buy food.It's a cornerstone of the community it serves.Today, I have the privilege of standing alongside independent grocers in every corner of the country: in big-city neighborhoods, in the suburbs and in small, rural towns where the local grocer is one of the last anchors keeping Main Street alive.
In too many of those communities, the nearest alternative is an hour away.When that store closes, a town loses far more than a place to buy groceries.So, as our nation just celebrated our 250th birthday, it is worth asking a bigger question: What kind of America do we want? I believe we want an America of opportunity, a country where a family can build a business, pass it down and compete on the strength of its service, its quality and its price.
That is the American Dream, which looks a little different in every town, and it is something worth protecting.WALMART, SAM'S CLUB SLASH PRICES ON THOUSANDS OF PRODUCTS AS TRUMP SAYS MOVE CAME AT HIS REQUESTOn July 8, Walmart announced price cuts on thousands of grocery and household items, and President Donald Trump praised the move as coming at his administration's request to mark America's 250th birthday, encouraging other retailers to follow suit.Independent grocers welcome the president's efforts, because lowering the cost of feeding a family is a goal we share.Several major retail grocery chains have cut prices after encouragement from President Donald Trump.
(Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)However, I believe free, open and truly competitive markets...