The House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture held a hearing yesterday, September 9, titled “Exploring State Options in SNAP.” Ahead of the hearing, NACS sent a letter to Chairman Brad Finstad (R-MN) and Ranking Member Jahana Hayes (D-CT) cautioning that new state waivers restricting what SNAP recipients can purchase could undermine food access and create unsustainable compliance burdens for retailers.

USDA has approved 12 state waiver requests so far to restrict the SNAP purchase of “unhealthy” items, like soda and candy. These waivers mark the first time the program has allowed state-by-state rules to restrict certain foods, which sets the stage for a patchwork of definitions that retailers will be required to navigate and enforce.

In the letter, NACS noted that the convenience industry plays a critical role in SNAP, with more than 118,000 participating locations, and many serving as the only food retail stores in rural and urban neighborhoods throughout the country.

“State waivers on what SNAP recipients can purchase risk upending this system because of their unintended consequences,” the letter stated. “While these proposals banning products such as candy or soft drinks are intended to promote better health, they will unintentionally reduce access to food, increase operational burdens and risk pushing some retailers out of the program entirely.”

The letter highlighted the logistical and operational challenges of categorizing more than 650,000 food and beverage products as “in” or “out”, training staff on constantly shifting rules, updating signage and shelf labels, and managing confusion at checkout. It also pointed to inconsistencies in state definitions that could lead to situations where candy products remain SNAP-eligible, while other healthier options, like protein or granola bars, are not.

NACS urged USDA and Congress to take steps to mitigate these burdens, including providing a full, regularly updated list of ineligible products in a usable format, establishing uniform product definitions, ensuring adequate lead time for retailers to comply and implementing a robust public education campaign so that SNAP customers understand the coming changes.

“The SNAP program has never before allowed state-by-state waivers of this kind. This represents a monumental change, yet the basic logistical steps necessary to carry it out successfully have not been put in place,” the letter concluded. “Until those problems are resolved, these waivers should not go into effect.”