By: Hannah Walker, Vice President, Political Affairs, FMI 

The headline question has been asked countless times the past few weeks, and rightfully so! Our country is facing a pandemic like none of us have experienced before and hopefully never will again. Families are being asked to stay at home and limit their excursions to what is deemed essential. Grocers also see a marked increase in online food sales with models like home delivery or pick-up. This process works well for those families paying with either credit or debit card, or with online Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits that are currently in very limited areas. The interest in online SNAP sales has expanded as grocers work to continue serving all their customers during this crucial time. 

Then and Now: Online SNAP Pilot 

The idea of an online SNAP program began when the 2014 Farm Bill directed the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to conduct a pilot where SNAP customers could order and pay for groceries online for home delivery or curbside pickup. The pilot went live last spring in select New York neighborhoods. Over the past year, the pilot has expanded to other parts of New York, Washington, Oregon, Alabama and Nebraska.   

When Congress passed the 2018 Farm Bill, it granted USDA the authority to roll out SNAP online purchasing nationwide if it found the pilot a success. Even in 2018, we thought Congress’ authorization of the pilot was prudent. Now in 2020, and in a world responding to a pandemic outbreak that has created an urgent need for online grocery shopping, families that rely on SNAP cannot wait another four or five years for online SNAP to come to their community.   

What FMI is doing to move the needle 

We continue to work closely with USDA to seek ways to quickly expand online SNAP to include additional retailers and reach beyond a handful of states. USDA shared this week that California has been approved to move forward with launching an online pilot, and Florida is close behind. The agency also reported that while they continue to send interested retailers to the original request for volunteers form it published back in 2016, it is creating a streamlined set of requirements for retailers that will hopefully be released very soon.  

While things are picking up speed, we also know more must be done. As the agency authorizes more states to rollout SNAP online,  we also must ensure they allow any SNAP retailer meeting the requirements to participate in online SNAP. 

What SNAP retailers can do 

EBT processors like FIS and Conduent appear to be at different stages of the process with various states. So, it can't hurt to reach out to your state’s SNAP office, regardless of whether FIS or Conduent service your state, to ask about the process and your involvement.  

As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. Well, in this case we have the invention, we just need to use it to ensure we leave no customer unfed or unserved at this critical time. FMI will continue to push for a national SNAP online rollout open to all eligible SNAP retailers.