More SNAP Money Can Now Be Used For Online Groceries
Traditionally, food stamps or money from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was required to be spent when shopping in grocery stores. Those rules have been relaxed amid the coronavirus shutdowns. In a pilot program, several states had been allowing benefit debit cards for online grocery shopping, including Alabama, Iowa, Nebraska, New York, and Oregon. The USDA, which administers SNAP benefits, has now added Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, North Carolina, the District of Columbia and West Virginia to this program.
On average, low-income households qualifying for SNAP benefits are given $235 per month. This money must be used to buy groceries, but does not include delivery fees for online groceries, which must be paid separately. Currently, the only retailers in each state approved by the USDA are Amazon and Walmart, although Wrights Market in Alabama and ShopRite in New York have also been approved. At the start of this year, about 18 million households were granted SNAP benefits, but enrollment is expected to increase dramatically as schools and businesses remain closed and household incomes dwindle. Amid the economic turmoil, Democrats have pushed for a 15% increase in monthly SNAP benefits, and Representative Ilhan Omar (Democrat, Minnesota) has proposed legislation to include every state in the online SNAP program.
USDA Feels The Pandemic Pinch As Food Safety Concerns Mount
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is facing increasing pressure to ensure the safety of our nation’s food supply amid the coronavirus outbreak.
While experts note that the food supply is safe as of now, challenges such as limited resources and the closure of major food processing plants may pose a threat to the USDA’s ability to maintain food safety standards. Smithfield Foods recently closed two more of its pork processing plants in Cudahy, Wisconsin and Martin City, Missouri due to worker illness, and one worker at the company’s Sioux Falls, South Dakota plant has passed away. Two Tyson employees at a pork processing plant in Columbus Junction, Iowa have also succumbed to complications from COVID-19.
Consumer concerns have risen, but public health experts reiterate that studies have found no evidence that the novel coronavirus is transmissible through food consumption. Regardless, the USDA has been so overwhelmed with food safety concerns that it has only issued two product recalls in the past two months, much less than the usual amount. This lack of recalls has some industry analysts worried that COVID-19 may have distracted food safety officials to such an extent that unsafe food products have been purchased and consumed undetected in the past few months. The diminishing recalls may be completely unrelated. “I don’t think consumers should be too worried about the reduction of recalls. I think there’s typical ebbs and flows,” said Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports. Ronholm also notes that consumers have a part to play in ensuring continued food safety. “Consumers have to make sure they’re practicing some safe food handling practices at home. Washing their hands and separating fresh product from raw product, minimizing their risk as much as possible.”
