I know how important Main Street grocery stores are to America, because I grew up in one

I come from a family of grocers. For generations, my family ran a neighborhood grocery store in New Orleans, the kind of place where you knew your customers by name, where the produce came in fresh that morning, and where the store was as much a part of the community as the church down the street or the school around the corner. That store didn't survive Hurricane Katrina in 2005. But what it stood for never left me. A grocery store isn't just a place to buy food. It's a cornerstone of the community it serves.

Today, I have the privilege of standing alongside independent grocers in every corner of the country: in big-city neighborhoods, in the suburbs and in small, rural towns where the local grocer is one of the last anchors keeping Main Street alive. In too many of those communities, the nearest alternative is an hour away. When that store closes, a town loses far more than a place to buy groceries.

So, as our nation just celebrated our 250th birthday, it is worth asking a bigger question: What kind of America do we want? I believe we want an America of opportunity, a country where a family can build a business, pass it down and compete on the strength of its service, its quality and its price. That is the American Dream, which looks a little different in every town, and it is something worth protecting.

WALMART, SAM'S CLUB SLASH PRICES ON THOUSANDS OF PRODUCTS AS TRUMP SAYS MOVE CAME AT HIS REQUEST

On July 8, Walmart announced price cuts on thousands of grocery and household items, and President Donald Trump praised the move as coming at his administration's request to mark America's 250th birthday, encouraging other retailers to follow suit. Independent grocers welcome the president's efforts, because lowering the cost of feeding a family is a goal we share.

However, I believe free, open and truly competitive markets are the key to driving efficiency throughout the food supply chain and, ultimately, driving down prices for consumers. Free and competitive markets are a cornerstone of the American economy. Even President Theodore Roosevelt recognized that when too much market power is concentrated in the hands of a few, competition suffers — as do consumers, workers and communities.

Independent grocers prove every day that competition works. They deliver exceptional value, fresh produce, quality meat and deli offerings, personalized service and a shopping experience rooted in relationships. They invest in local farmers and suppliers, support schools and charities and reinvest in the communities where they live and work. And a level playing field isn't just good policy, it's critical to ensuring America's Main Street businesses can continue to innovate and thrive. A strong Main Street is good for consumers, good for communities, and good for America.

But markets only stay free and fair when the basic rules of competition are respected. When a handful of dominant players grow large enough to tilt the field in their favor, securing pricing and terms no one else can get, not because they are more efficient or better operators but simply because of their size, competition stops working the way it should.

They use that leverage to squeeze suppliers for better terms even though, at the end of the day, independents are buying in truckload quantities. And when the guardrails meant to keep the marketplace fair go unenforced, as they too often have over the years, it is Main Street that pays the price.

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Independent grocers are not asking for special treatment, and we are not looking for a handout. We are asking for a fair fight, the same shot at success this country has always promised to anyone willing to work for it.

Give independent grocers that fair shot, and they will keep doing what they have always done: serve their neighbors, create good jobs and pour themselves back into the towns they call home. We stand ready to work with the administration and policymakers to strengthen competition, expand consumer choice and keep food affordable for families across the country.

The store my family ran in New Orleans is gone, but what it stood for lives on in thousands of grocers still behind their counters today. Washington must protect their right to compete, and we can protect something larger: an America where Main Street still has a fighting chance.