WASHINGTON – The Farm Bill took one step closer to becoming law by passing the Senate 68-32. Next stop: President Obama’s desk for his signature. 

As previously reported in NACS Daily, the Farm Bill contains additional obligations on retailers that redeem Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

NACS supported the final bill because it contains language much more favorable for the convenience store industry compared with earlier iterations of the Farm Bill. For example, a Farm Bill circulating through the previous Congress would have precluded any retailer from redeeming SNAP benefits if 45% or more of their sales were from alcohol, hot food or tobacco products. This would have virtually eliminated convenience stores from the SNAP program. In the current Congress, the Senate passed a revised Farm Bill that would have granted the Department of Agriculture the authority to impose similarly restrictive rules on the convenience store industry. This provision was removed during House-Senate negotiations on the legislation.

The final version of the Farm Bill that’s now heading to President Obama for his signature imposes the following additional obligations on SNAP retailers:

1. 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. For those who do not, they will eventually need to upgrade their systems, although this provision does not become effective until the Department of Agriculture issues regulations implementing it.  This is likely to take at least several months.
2. The bill requires SNAP retailers to stock at least seven different items in each of the four “staple food” categories. (Current law requires only three items in each category.)
3. SNAP retailers must stock at least one “perishable” food item in at least three of the four staple food categories. (Current law requires perishable items in only two of the staple food categories.)

Once the bill becomes law, NACS will circulate a comprehensive analysis of regulatory issues to help SNAP retailers understand their obligations under the new law. Please review the document and send questions to Lyle Beckwith at lbeckwith@nacsonline.com.

NACS has spent almost two years educating members of Congress on the important role that convenience stores play in the SNAP program, particularly for financially challenged Americans who live in rural and deep urban environments. Largely because of these efforts, the new law will enable convenience stores to continue playing a crucial role in the SNAP program.