WASHINGTON – Yesterday NACS met with officials from the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to discuss the implementation process for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) reforms contained in the Farm Bill enacted last month. As NACS has previously reported, the Farm Bill imposes several additional obligations on SNAP retailers:

• SNAP retailers will be required to implement point-of-sale technology systems that won’t allow SNAP benefits for the purchase of ineligible items, and will further preclude cashiers from manually overriding this prohibition. A majority of convenience store operators already have such systems in place. Those who do not will eventually need to upgrade their systems.
• The bill requires SNAP retailers to stock at least seven different items in each of the four “staple food” categories. (Prior to the Farm Bill, SNAP retailers were required to stock at least three different items in each category.)
• SNAP retailers must stock at least one “perishable” food item in at least three of the four staple food categories. (Prior to the Farm Bill, SNAP retailers were required to stock perishable items in only two of the staple food categories.)

On Wednesday, USDA officials said that the Agency would be releasing a “guidance document” in the coming weeks that will detail which provisions in the Farm Bill are subject to a formal rulemaking by USDA, and which can take effect without such a rulemaking. The statute clearly requires USDA to issue rules to implement the technology provision discussed above. Whether the depth-of-stock provisions require a formal rulemaking is less clear. USDA indicated on Wednesday, however, that the depth-of-stock provisions would also be subject to a rulemaking. Although this cannot be confirmed until the guidance is released, if it is true it would mean that the depth-of-stock provisions noted above will not be enforced until after the rulemaking process concludes. This will take at least several months, likely longer.

It remains unclear whether USDA will issue more specific guidance regarding how certain food items can be classified into one of the four staple food categories. Current law in this area is somewhat vague and ambiguous. A comprehensive analysis of the current law is available here. 

NACS will continue to work with USDA to ensure that the Farm Bill is implemented in a fair manner that maintains the integral role convenience stores play in the SNAP program. Future developments will be reported in NACS Daily and NACS Magazine.