The National Grocers Association (NGA), the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), NATSO, Representing America’s Travel Centers and Truck Stops, and SIGMA: America’s Leading Fuel Marketers, submitted a joint letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins calling on the agency to delay the implementation of state Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) restriction waivers.
While states are permitted to apply for waivers to restrict purchases of certain products from SNAP eligibility, the groups cautioned that allowing each state to take a different approach has created significant operational and compliance challenges for retailers.
“Perpetuating this current state of affairs will increase costs for food retailers and ultimately their customers,” the letter states. “Given that the USDA holds the federal authority by law to approve state waivers that restrict SNAP purchases and issue other nutrition standards, we ask that you use this power to ensure SNAP remains efficient and effective.”
The associations called for USDA to ensure predictability, clarity and fairness so that all SNAP-authorized stores can identify restricted products and comply with the law. Since the first state restriction waiver was approved in May, retailers have struggled to determine which products are restricted in each state, despite investing in outside expertise to navigate the evolving patchwork of rules.
Recent analysis underscored the economic impact of these types of restrictions, projecting $1.6 billion in up-front costs across the food retail industry, with convenience stores bearing the largest share at $1.0 billion, followed by supermarkets, supercenters and small-format grocers. Annual ongoing costs are estimated at nearly $759 million.
“The waivers that have been approved by the Department of Agriculture are too complex to follow without inflating food prices,” said Margaret Mannion, NACS director of government relations. “There is no need to rush implementation. USDA should take the time to gather input from all stakeholders so they can develop clear and consistent rules.”
The letter urged USDA to go through the rulemaking process to define the specific foods and beverages that states can use if they choose to apply for a restriction. The groups also called on USDA to delay implementation of any state waivers until this standardization process is complete.
Read the full joint letter here.