Independent Grocers Request That Congress Oppose SNAP Restrictions

Letter signed by 2,500 retailers across U.S.

2/20/2024

NGA and independent grocers across the United States have sent a letter to Congress expressing opposition to recent efforts within the FY2024 House Agriculture Appropriations bill to limit SNAP purchases under SNAP.

The National Grocers Association (NGA), the trade association representing the independent supermarket industry, along with independent grocers across the country, has sent a letter to Congress expressing opposition to recent efforts within the FY2024 House Agriculture Appropriations bill to limit SNAP purchases under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

According to NGA, the bill includes two provisions that it believes would undermine SNAP: the creation of a pilot program to catalog and restrict SNAP purchases, and the collection of SNAP purchasing data, with the aim of eventually restricting SNAP purchases.

“One of the main reasons SNAP is such an effective program is because of the ease of processing transactions for both retailers and beneficiaries, allowing folks to make the best decisions for their nutritional needs and families,” noted Stephanie Johnson, RDN, VP of government relations at Washington, D.C.-based NGA. “Independent grocers support SNAP choice because it maintains an already successful program and ensures families can shop with the same dignity and ease as any other grocery customer.”

Almost 2,500 NGA members from across the country, located in every single Congressional district, signed the letter that was sent to Congressional leaders in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

According to the letter: “The dietary needs of the SNAP population are diverse, and no one diet would be appropriate for all participants. For instance, a cancer patient struggling to gain weight doesn’t have the same needs as a child fighting diabetes.”

The proposed provisions and NGA’s response come at a time of greater food insecurity for Americans: According to a recent quarterly study from customer data science firm dunnhumby, 36% of U.S. families have skipped meals due to financial reasons over the past year. The same study also found that 18- to 34-year-olds and 35- to 44-year-olds have the highest rate of skipping meals among all age groups, at 38% and 37% respectively.