Updated Staple Food Stocking Standards for Retailers in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

This rule codifies a new framework for determining distinct staple food varieties for meeting staple food stocking requirements for retailer participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This rule is needed to implement the previously codified provision of the Agricultural Act of 2014 which increased the minimum number of staple food varieties a SNAP retailer must carry from three to seven in each of four staple food categories and the number of food categories for which at least one perishable variety must be provided from two to three. These changes aim to ensure that SNAP retailers can effectively serve SNAP participants by offering a wider variety of staple foods.