WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 4, 2018) – In a new video released today, Texas-based manufacturer Atkinson Candy Company joins the chorus of voices calling for reform of the U.S. sugar program. Employees and leaders from the company discuss how the sugar program, which forces U.S.-based manufacturers to pay double for the price of sugar, affects their livelihood and puts American companies at a competitive disadvantage.

Workers at the family-owned company in Lufkin, Texas expressed the importance of their workplace to their families and communities. Denise, an 11-year packaging employee, said, “It’s very important to have the factory. We have family, and we have to take care of them.”

Atkinson Candy employs more than 200 people in the area, bringing vital economic support to the community. “We can at least keep the businesses open so that we can have employees and keep the business going,” notes Joshua, an operations employee. “We can make Lufkin grow. We can make Atkinson grow.”

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4265 / SB. 2086), introduced by a bicameral, bipartisan group of federal lawmakers late last year, would reform the outdated and outrageous program.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.

Atkinson Candy 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The Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy (AFSP) is a broad-based coalition advocating to modernize the outdated and outrageous U.S. sugar program.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 sizeable 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.