The USDA added Florida and Idaho to its list of states where SNAP recipients are allowed to purchase groceries online. Ten states, with 34.5 percent of food stamp enrollment, now have government approval of the online option, which could reduce the risk of coronavirus exposure.
“This approval will allow the states to expedite the implementation of online purchasing with currently authorized SNAP online retailers with a target start date later this month,” said the USDA. Amazon and Walmart are working with the 10 states to provide sales.
Three of the four states with the largest SNAP enrollment — New York, California and Florida — are now part of what began as a pilot project a year ago with six states: Alabama, Iowa, Nebraska, New York, Oregon, and Washington. California and Arizona were approved last week. Texas has the largest number of SNAP participants, 3.2 million at latest count.
The 10 participating states have a combined enrollment of 12.8 million of the nationwide total of 37.1 million people, according to USDA data.