FMI Reacts to New USDA Guidance on SNAP Waivers

ARLINGTON, VA - Today, FMI - The Food Industry Association Chief Public Policy Officer Jennifer Hatcher offered the following statement on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) long-awaited Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) retailer compliance guidance to implement food restriction waivers:

"FMI members remain committed to supporting the health and nutrition goals of all customers - including SNAP participants - and we appreciate the USDA confirmation that each state-issued food restriction waiver will include a 90-day grace period following its implementation date. This transition window is essential to helping retailers identify and raise compliance issues with USDA Food and Nutrition Service before formal investigations begin.

"Throughout this process, FMI has consistently tried to work closely with USDA and the states to promote consistent waiver implementation across shopping channels and store formats so that customers and stores experience consistency and as little confusion as possible as the waivers restrict thousands of items and vary significantly from state to state.

"We have asked states implementing waivers and USDA to review retailer-developed UPC-level lists of restricted products to validate that if retailers use these comprehensive lists of restricted products, that they will be deemed compliant with the waiver. We are grateful to those states who have already provided this assurance.

"While receiving this guidance and assurance of a 90-day grace period is critical, our members have additional questions and need assurance that 'involuntary withdrawal' following a second offense mentioned in the guidance will be limited to retailers knowingly and intentionally not following the restriction, not an accidental error on one of 21,000 or more products that must be coded as restricted in each state.

"Although USDA has outlined that states bear responsibility for communicating changes to SNAP participants, FMI urges both states and USDA to develop model customer-facing materials that states and retailers can use to reduce customer confusion and minimize friction at checkout.

"While we cannot overstate the complexity of this effort, FMI will continue working with USDA, Secretary Rollins, the U.S. Congress, and state agencies to try to support a smooth, coordinated transition to these new requirements so the SNAP program remains efficient, consistent and reliable for authorized stores and the millions of customers who depend on it."