Milling & Baking News - March 9, 2021 - 14

Industry Activities

GFF moves breadbasket checkoff
baker outreach into new phase
WASHINGTON - In a plan first described last fall, the Grain Foods Foundation has reached out to all baking companies likely to be included in a bread
checkoff program for " solutions, ideas,
questions and concerns. "
In a letter mailed earlier in February,
Pete Frederick and Debo Mukherjee, cochairs of the GFF and its Breadbasket
Checkoff Steering Committee, said the
initiative is entering a second phase of development. Mr. Frederick is president and
chief executive officer of Grain Craft, Chattanooga, Tenn., and Mr. Mukherjee is chief
marketing officer of Flowers Foods, Inc.,
Thomasville, Ga.
" In the late summer as the industry
adapted to the impact of COVID, the initiative was paused at the US Department
of Agriculture (USDA) to give the Checkoff Steering Committee the opportunity to
engage industry and ensure the program
could accommodate this incredible disruption, " the co-chairs said. " The foundation's
board of trustees met in October and has
reiterated its support for continuation of
this project, premised on a commitment
to more direct dialogue. The committee
remains focused on finding a solution to
ameliorate the multi-year consumer trend
that has and continues to hit the heart of
our category: the breadbasket. "

Seeking to maximize baker interaction
as the initiative is pursued, Mr. Frederick
and Mr. Mukherjee identified a series of
steps that will be taken, beginning with
baker-to-baker dialogues between prospective participants and members of the
checkoff steering committee.
" These invitations are open-ended,
but the committee is setting aside considerable time for these important conversations through the end of March, "
the co-chairs said.
Other steps cited in the letter include virtual roundtables, featuring baker-to-baker dialogues; ongoing steering committee
oversight and industry messaging through
investor communications and articles
published by Sosland Publishing Co.
Commenting on the process, Mr.
Mukherjee said, " We sent letters to the 17
bakers who we anticipate will be part of
the program. As we enter the next phase
of work - concrete modifications to the
checkoff order - we want to make clear
who are the most likely stakeholders. If
you did not receive a letter and believe
you are subject to the program, we encourage you to reach out to us. "
Technical refinement of the program
will be driven by an ad hoc legal committee " to ensure our advocacy for the industry is as strong as possible before the US

In letter to Biden administration,
IBA maintains checkoff opposition
WASHINGTON - Even as the Grain
Foods Foundation is marshalling support
for a new iteration of the breadbasket
checkoff program, a vocal group of bakers remains vigorously opposed to a program, said Nicholas A. Pyle, president of
the Independent Bakers Association.
In a recent letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, the IBA
said it " requests that the
Biden administration discontinue any further efforts
to proceed with the breadbasket checkoff program. "
In the letter, Mr. Pyle
said IBA's support for ter- Pyle
minating efforts to establish a checkoff was reinforced by a survey
of more than 70 US baking companies, a
large majority of whom said they do not
support a checkoff program.
He said the 70 companies were selected
based on membership lists from the IBA,
the American Bakers Association and
14 / March 9, 2021

Milling & Baking News

the Sosland Publishing Co. Redbook.
Most of the companies surveyed
would not be subject to assessments under a checkoff program, but all or nearly
all would need to file annually with the
US Department of Agriculture to seek
an exemption, based on their volume or
their product mix, Mr. Pyle said.
" They would have to keep paperwork
and file annually, " he said. " They all have
skin in the game. "
Christine Cochran, executive director
of the Grain Foods Foundation, said the
paperwork burden on bakers seeking an
exemption will be minimal.
Asked whether the majority of baking
companies likely covered by a checkoff assessment as currently proposed oppose such
a program, Mr. Pyle said he was unsure.
" We don't know exactly who is covered, " he said. " We don't know the mix
at baking companies between retail and
foodservice. "
In the letter to Mr. Vilsack, Mr. Pyle

Department of Agriculture as we work
through outstanding legal issues, " the cochairs said. In particular, the group will
look at legal questions prompted by a decision to make participation voluntary for
companies baking breadbasket products
for foodservice.
Mr. Frederick and Mr. Mukherjee encouraged the bakers to meet with the GFF,
nominate a representative to the legal committee and join the steering committee.
" We believe there is place for the baking
and milling industry to enhance the industry's reputation among consumers and
give them permission to love our products
again, " they said.
They also encouraged the bakers to preview creative work produced in anticipation
of the checkoff and to explore the range of
work to be conducted in a checkoff program, including marketing efforts, scientific
research and market intelligence.
Chad Donvito, chief marketing officer,
King's Hawaiian, Los Alamitos, Calif., also
encouraged bakers to learn more about the
potential benefits of the checkoff program.
" King's Hawaiian has seen the power
that this program could have as we've
engaged in the process over the last 18
months, " he said. " We look forward to being able to move ahead, working with other stakeholders to get this across the finish
line and deliver value for the industry. "
More information about the checkoff
may be found at https://checkoff.grainfoodsfoundation.org. MBN
said if the USDA " is compelled to actively
again consider a breadbasket checkoff, it
should be subject to an upfront referendum. " He went on to say the referendum
should be a one-baker one-vote referendum rather than one based on proportional flour usage.
Ms. Cochran said a plan to wait three
years for a referendum was to accommodate bakers who are skeptical about the
program. The USDA will not launch the
program unless a majority of companies
subject to assessments express support.
" With a delayed referendum, the program can only be run for up to three years
on a trial basis, and participants can request a refund, " she said. " With an upfront referendum, the program becomes
permanent for five years with no refund
provision. "
Mr. Pyle said a checkoff would be less
effective for an industry like baking,
whose products mostly are branded, than
is the case for beef or eggs, sectors with
far less or almost no branding.
" We're trying (to) end the bread tax on
the industry, " he said. " That's what we're
about. " MBN
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

https://www.checkoff.grain http://www.foodsfoundation.org http://www.bakingbusiness.com http://www.world-grain.com

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