When it comes to food and agriculture legislation, not all bills are created equal. The Farm Bill is the big kahuna, the top dog, the Bruce Springsteen, governing many of the sector’s policies and programs. So as the 2018 iteration of the bill is put out to pasture this year (read: it expires), stakeholders are pushing their agendas for the 2023 edition.

Matthew McKenna, former senior advisor to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack during President Obama’s second term, told Retail Brew the bill, typically renewed every five years, is a “muscle network of funding” for the USDA.

• It’s an omnibus bill, meaning it covers a lot of different topics. The bill is divided into 12 Titles, which include commodity programs, conservation, trade, nutrition programs (like SNAP), rural development, forestry, energy, and horticulture.
• It directly impacts farmers and ranchers, rural communities, and low-income families, which then impacts CPG brands, retailers, and consumers.

The bill is a bit “unusual” in that the USDA is very dependent on it for funding, and that it follows a calendar different from presidential administrations, McKenna noted. “That bipartisan nature and that five-year calendar, I think, allows Congress to focus on policy issues a little bit more independent, sometimes, of politics, which is unusual for them,” he said.

• The new makeup of the House of Representatives, which has a slight Republican majority, could also change things, he added.

House Agriculture Committee Chair G.T. Thompson, R-Pa., said earlier this month that it’s “crunch time” for the bill, so let’s get into what you need to know.

Keep reading here.—EC

The metaverse was a key topic at NRF’s Big Show in New York last week, and we’re not just talking about the dozens of virtual reality companies whose booths graced the expo hall. On stage, executives from brands including Claire’s, Microsoft, and Coach discussed their forays into the metaverse.

Many brands interested in virtual worlds are turning to online platform Roblox to design their own games and experiences for consumers. In fact, in the last several years, Roblox has become positively packed with brand activations, from NIKELAND to Gucci Town. But as the platform gains increasing notoriety among brands of all shapes and sizes, it’s also looking to distinguish itself, not just as a world for gamers, but as a collaborative and creative space to build community.

Winnie Burke, head of fashion and beauty partnerships at Roblox, spoke to a full house at NRF and debunked some common beliefs about the platform.

• Roblox might be coming into popularity with brands, but at over 18 years old (it was founded in 2004), it’s far from a newcomer to the space, Burke explained.
• “We’ve historically been known as a kids platform, and that is no longer just true,” she added. “To date, over 50% of our audience is over the age of 13, and 17–24 is our fastest-growing demographic.”
• And despite common assumptions, gaming is just “one facet” of Roblox, Burke said, explaining why she doesn’t use the phrase “gaming platform.”
• “Another major aspect of Roblox…is creation,” she explained. “What the platform provides is the tools and technology, but the community are the ones who are innovating for all the different types of content.”

Keep reading here.—MA

Today’s top retail reads.

Apple turnover: How more conservative hiring and fewer employee perks like free lunch may have helped Apple thus far avoid the layoffs of other tech companies. (the Wall Street Journal)

Up, up, and away: The price of helium has nearly doubled since before the Covid-19 pandemic, and it may be one of the factors that led Party City to file for bankruptcy. (Marketplace)

The slice is right: The New Yorker who logged 464 slices of pizza he ate over eight years has seen prices rise. Liam Quigley: “If I go to a random pizza spot in Queens and I’m like, ‘How much is a plain slice?’ and they’re like, ‘$3.50 or $3.75,’ I’m gonna look at it and be like, ‘Really, bro?’” (Slate)

At the mall, it’s where band tees are the only tees. In Retail Brew, it’s where we invite readers to weigh in on a trending retail topic.

Fur coats used to be all the rage for celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, but now fur often seems to elicit all the rage. Retail Brew’s Jeena Sharma recently reported, for example, on California’s fur ban, which took effect this month.

The law, which was passed in 2019, says retailers must cease sales of new items made with fur unless they’re secondhand. Similar laws are already prevalent in parts of Europe and potentially in the works in states like New York, and many shoppers seem to have long supported a ban on fur products.

Jeena’s second story about the fur ban, which will be in tomorrow’s newsletter, will look at the movement to overturn the law, but first…

You tell us: Are you in favor of fur bans, like the one in California, which bans the sale of new fur products? Cast your vote here.

Circling back: Last week, we asked you about a Dutch supermarket chain, Jumbo, that introduced 200 cash-register lines in its stores to enable customers to have lengthy conversations with the employees ringing them up. The initiative is aimed at loneliness, with 33% of Dutch residents over 75 reporting feeling at least moderately lonely, according to Statistics Netherlands data cited by Vice.

So we asked if you would want your favorite supermarket to introduce slower-moving “chat registers” for those who want to schmooze with cashiers. Most (56.3%) said it was a great idea but said you’d personally go to those registers rarely or never. Another 15.1% of you agreed it was a great idea and said you would head for that register some or most of the time. But 27% of you said no, these registers were a bad idea, while 1.6% of you did not know or did not have an opinion.

Circling further back: In November, we asked you about retail chains that were struggling and, according to a Yahoo article, “may not make it to 2023.” Among four stores that were on the list—Bed Bath & Beyond, Rite Aid, Party City, and sewing and crafts chain Jo-Ann—we asked which you thought was the most likely to survive. Well, they all made it to 2023, but some news about Party City, whose likelihood of surviving you ranked last, with just 14.3% of you thinking it was the most likely to survive: On January 17, it filed for bankruptcy.—AAN

Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

• An organized retail crime primer—and a call to action
• The key themes of NRF 2023
• Takeaways from the event’s purpose-driven retail panel