WASHINGTON – On February 17, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) published in the Federal Register a proposed rule that includes problematic new eligibility standards for retailers participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

SNAP, the nation’s largest domestic hunger program, provides critical nutrition assistance to low-income individuals and families. In order to accept SNAP benefits, a retailer must meet certain eligibility requirements, including so-called “depth of stock” requirements that stipulate the minimum number of food items a retailer must offer for sale at any given time.

As expected, the proposal will implement statutory provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill, which NACS supported, that require retailers to stock more varieties of products in four “staple food” categories: meat, poultry, or fish; bread or cereal; vegetables or fruits; and dairy. Specifically, retailers must stock no fewer than seven different varieties of food items in each of the four staple food categories (before the 2014 Farm Bill, retailers had to stock three different varieties in each staple food category). Further, retailers will be required to offer at least one perishable food item in three of those categories rather than two.

FNS also included several proposed changes that went significantly beyond the statutory requirements in the Farm Bill. Problematically, the proposal would make it so “multiple ingredient” items, such as macaroni and cheese or cold pizza, would not be counted in any staple food category and would not go toward a retailer’s “depth of stock” requirements. This is a dramatic change from current rules, which permit multiple ingredient items to be counted in one staple food category depending on the main ingredient. For instance, since the main ingredient in mac and cheese is pasta, now it could count as one item in the bread and cereals category. The proposal would also add a “stocking requirement” whereby retailers would always have to have six different units of any food item in a store at any given time.

As currently drafted, the proposal will make it increasingly difficult for convenience store owners and operators to participate in SNAP, which in turn will negatively impact the many SNAP recipients that use their benefits at NACS members’ stores.

NACS counsel has prepared a memorandum analyzing the proposal, available only to NACS members through the Compliance Resources Center.

NACS will be filing comments to respond to the proposed rule, and asks its members to share their thoughts on the proposal and how it will impact their company’s ability to participate in SNAP. It is important to note that the issuance of the proposed rule does not impose any regulatory obligation on SNAP retailers. No additional requirements will take effect until after the proposal is finalized, which first requires FNS to review and respond to all submitted public comments. Comments on the proposed rule are due on April 18, 2016.

For more on this issue, visit nacsonline.com/snap.