The USDA proposal for grocers to stock a greater variety of healthy foods would push “tens of thousands” of convenience stores out of the food stamp program, one-third of the members of the House said in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. The letter, which called on the USDA to modify its proposal, pitted the agency’s goal of making healthy food available to poor Americans against the question of how far recipients would have to travel to buy it.
“Tens of thousands of stores would immediately be ineligible to participate as an authorized [food stamp] retailer if the rule were enacted as drafted,” said the letter signed by 163 representatives. More than 106,000 convenience stores redeem food stamps at present. “Forcing many small-format retailers out of the program … would limit a family’s access to food.”
Proposed on Feb. 17, the regulation would require food-stamp retailers to carry a wider and deeper array of healthy foods than in the past — 168 items in all. They would have to offer seven varieties of qualifying foods in four staple-food groups, plus perishable items in at least of the four groups with “a depth of stock defined as six stocking units.” The four groups of staple foods are meat, poultry or fish; bread or cereal; vegetables or fruits; and dairy. At present, stores must offer three varieties in each group of staple foods and one perishable food in two of the categories.
In April, the USDA estimated that “the average small store would need to add an additional 54 staple food items at a cost of around $140 in order to meet the proposed eligibility criteria.” The House letter cited an estimate from retailers of $5,000 per month per store.
“It is disappointing to see some take a position against increasing healthier food options for our low-income Americans,” said USDA spokeswoman Catherine Cochran. “This rule has always been about increasing access and choices of healthier food for low-income Americans.”
The public comment period ends on Wednesday for the proposed regulation, which grew out of a provision in the 2014 farm law requiring the USDA to expand the range of food available for sale to food-stamp recipients. When it extended the comment period in April, the USDA said it was working to ensure the new rule did not restrict access to retailers and encouraged suggestions on how to provide flexibility to stores.
“We look forward to working with you as [USDA] considers modifications to the proposed rule,” said the letter, spearheaded by the leaders of the House Agriculture Committee.
Some Democrats prominent in nutrition policy, such as Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, Sam Farr of California and Marcia Fudge of Ohio, signed the letter. Last week, McGovern, the senior Democrat on the Agriculture subcommittee on nutrition, said under the proposed rule, it would be easier for a retailer to opt out of the food-stamp program. “If this happens, people might have to get on a bus or drive for miles to find someone who will accept [food stamps]. And if they live in rural areas, good luck,” McGovern said, according to Convenience Store News.
The USDA plans to issue a final rule later this year.