The Intel Distillery, brought to you by CFBN founding member Bader Rutter, systematically analyzes the most important food industry news, trends and policy issues from the most influential sources. 

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Delivery companies, food stamp eligibility requirements and a bill proposing to raise the minimum wage are the dominant topics of late. Are you staying on top of these issues?

DELIVERY WOES AND FOES: The term "food-delivery war" has become a recurring topic in our news scans. On July 15, The Wall Street Journal tied the slow growth of restaurants offering third-party delivery to the slow growth of the delivery companies themselves. In a separate article, food policy writer Heather Haddon described how delivery companies are "sharing more data and fusing technology more seamlessly with restaurants" to prove their worth to restaurants that may see them as expensive and difficult to use. 

OH, SNAP: On July 23, the USDA proposed a rule that would reform eligibility requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, aka food stamps). The policy allows states to circumvent current income limits and automatically enroll households that already receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits. Under this change, 3.1 million participants who are currently automatically eligible for benefits would not be. 

WRESTLING WITH WAGES: Influential voices have long debated the costs and benefits of raising the minimum wage. Earlier this month, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) forecasted that raising the federal minimum wage would "boost workers' earnings through higher wages, though some of those higher earnings would be offset by higher rates of joblessness." On July 18, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would more than double the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 by 2025. Supermarket Newscontended the bill, known as the Raise the Wage Act, "faces slim-to-none chance in Republican-controlled Senate."

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