WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 19, 2018) – In a new video released today, Massachusetts-based Melville Candy Company owner Joseph Melville joins the chorus of voices calling for the modernization of the U.S. sugar program. The third-generation candy maker explains why the outdated U.S. sugar program is harming his business and employees.

“It makes us at a disadvantage competing with anyone outside of the United States that has got a world sugar price,” says Melville, who recently won the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2018 Small Business Person of the Year Award for Massachusetts. “If we had better pricing on sugar that was fair, we could create more jobs. It would help grow our business for sure.”

Melville Candy Company employs more than 175 people in Randolph, Massachusetts, bringing vital economic support to the community. I think not only is it going to stimulate the economy [and] give us the opportunity to give more jobs, but also build our company in the United States,” notes Joe, an operations employee.

The Sugar Policy Modernization Act (H.R. 4265 / SB. 2086), introduced by a bicameral, bipartisan group of federal lawmakers late last year, would reform the outdated and outrageous program. The proposal creates an adequate supply of sugar based on a reasonable competitive approach that reaches from the farm to the retail shelf – without risking an appropriate safety net for farmers. Congress can reform the U.S. sugar program this year as part of its consideration of the 2018 Farm Bill, which sets government agriculture policy.

Melville Candy Company isn’t alone in calling on Congress to reform the U.S. sugar program. To hear what others are saying, watch the Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy’s new video series.

The Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy (AFSP) is a broad-based coalition advocating to modernize the outdated and outrageous U.S. sugar program. Formed by a sizable group of small, family-owned businesses and manufacturers, retailers, food and beverage companies, trade associations, environmental advocates, taxpayer watchdog organizations, responsible government advocates, think tanks, and other organizations, the group’s goal is to help level the playing field for American manufacturers and their families when it comes to being able to create jobs. To learn more about the Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy and the need for sugar reform, please visit FairSugarPolicy.org.

If you are interested in using any of the video(s), please contact info@FairSugarPolicy.org.