NATSO Urges USDA to Standardize and Delay USDA Restriction Waivers
NATSO joined with industry stakeholders in calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to address multiple current operational and compliance challenges faced by retailers that accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
Specifically, NATSO asked USDA to delay and standardize USDA restriction waivers to ensure predictability, clarity and fairness so that all SNAP-authorized stores can identify restricted products and comply with the law.
Separately, NATSO urged USDA to provide immediate legal guidance stipulating that SNAP- authorized retail food stores may round cash transactions to the nearest nickel amid the penny phase-out.
USDA holds the federal authority to approve state waivers that restrict SNAP purchases. Current restriction waivers allow each state to take a different approach to restrictions on purchases of certain products from SNAP eligibility. The complexity of today’s food supply chain has made it nearly impossible for retailers to determine what foods or beverages are restricted in each state.
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.
NATSO urged USDA to delay the implementation of state SNAP restriction waivers and to establish — through the rulemaking process — definitions of specific foods and beverages that states can use if they choose to apply for a restriction waiver. This should be coupled with a list of products by universal product code (UPC) that will be banned under approved waivers.
“Perpetuating this current state of affairs will increase costs for food retailers and ultimately their customers,” the organizations wrote in a letter to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins. “This can be avoided if the various states’ SNAP restriction waivers were harmonized to exclude the same list of products as one another.”
Separately, NATSO urged USDA to provide immediate legal guidance stipulating that SNAP- authorized retail food stores are not in violation of the SNAP equal treatment provisions if the store rounds cash transactions to the nearest nickel. As the U.S. Mint ceases minting the penny, stores are experiencing an inability to provide exact change to cash-paying customers. Retailers are concerned that rounding SNAP purchases to the nearest nickel will put them in violation of SNAP’s equal-treatment provisions.
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