Texas retailers and nonprofits have spent months preparing for new restrictions to a major food assistance program that will go into effect this week — a change that could affect 3.5 million Texans.
People using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits will be barred from purchasing “candy or sweetened drinks” starting Wednesday. While the state has published guidance online, some recipients may not know about the new restrictions until they’re checking out at the store.
Gary Huddleston, grocery industry consultant for the Texas Retailers Association, said it’s up to stores to prevent consumers from purchasing barred products with their SNAP benefit card, also known as the Lone Star Card.
“Grocers are used to ‘blocking’ products within the program,” he said. “The challenge is there's some cost involved to make sure that the system is correct.”
SNAP provides financial assistance to low-income families across the country. Texas is one of 22 states implementing restrictions on “the purchase of non-nutritious items like soda and candy.”
The restrictions are part of Texas’ “Make America Healthy Again” initiative that Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law last year.
What does this mean for Texans?
Huddleston said there won’t be much of a change in the process for consumers.
“The only issue will be if they...didn't know that beginning April 1st, the two categories were exempt, and they pick up something that they've normally bought with their SNAP card and it's not eligible,” he said.
Huddleston said most SNAP recipients know there are restrictions on what you can purchase with a Lone Star Card and the state has been informing recipients of the changes.
Tonya Edwards, senior director of SNAP and social services assistance with North Texas Food Bank, said the state will typically put notices on the website recipients use to check their eligibility and benefits.
“Go to Your Texas Benefits,” Edwards said. “That's going to always provide [recipients] with the most updated information on what's happening or what's changing with their benefits.”
Clarisa Clarke, government relations office for the North Texas Food Bank, said the changes haven’t been publicized a lot besides on the national level – which could mean some SNAP recipients aren’t aware of the changes coming.
“Unfortunately, I think people are just going to find out when they go to the store,” she said. “I do not know how much awareness there is out there.”
Huddleston said cashiers and store employees will play a big role in explaining what this means to consumers.
But, some SNAP shoppers may not have access to a big grocery store like Kroger. Clarke said she and other North Texas Food Bank leadership are worried about the effect on communities that are considered “food deserts.”
“Like in southern Dallas, where people may not have access to nutritious food, big grocery stores, that kind of thing, and they have to shop at a convenience store,” Clarke said. “That's going to limit their choices on what they can buy…because obviously a lot of convenience stores, they just don't have that fresh produce and proteins.”
Clarke said it may take time for people to know what is allowed and what isn’t – especially since some people don’t notice how sugary some products can be.
“It's going to be a little bit of trial and error,” she said. “But really, from what we're hearing, most people use their SNAP benefits for fresh produce [and] proteins, because those are the more expensive items.”
Edwards and Clarke both highlighted the significance of community resources to support SNAP recipients – especially in moments when they have questions or need resources. The North Texas Food Bank said it can support families concerned about the changes by providing food assistance, answering questions about the changes and providing information on additional community programs for people to utilize.
How do retailers determine what’s banned?
There have always been certain products that SNAP couldn’t be used for, like prepared foods, alcohol and non-food products – such as tobacco and medicine. However, this is the first time since the federal program began in the 1960s that the state has put additional restrictions on what recipients can purchase.
“This new restriction is for just two categories of food product: sweetened drinks and candy,” Huddleston said. “The main thing is making sure that we have the right product blocked in each supermarket based upon the definitions.”
There were a lot of questions about the categories and what this meant for retailers, Huddleston said. He said grocers have been meeting with the state regularly since the beginning of the year, as well as participating in bi-weekly calls and webinars.
For example, the state defined “sweetened drinks” as a drink made with water that contains five or more grams of added sugar per serving or any amount of artificial sweetener – knocking out most of a typical beverage aisle.
Texas Health and Human Services said recipients can still purchase milk or milk substitutes, as well as drinks that have more than 50% vegetable or fruit juice, contain natural sweeteners with less than five grams of added sugar and electrolyte drinks to treat dehydration that aren’t labeled as a “sports drink.”
The state defined candy as candy bars, gum and taffy. It also included nuts, raisins or fruits that have been “candied, crystalized, glazed or coated with chocolate, yogurt or caramel.”
Even with the definitions, some grocers had concerns about what products would be affected.
“The state has a dedicated website that…the grocer can go and ask that question on a specific product to make sure that that particular product is either eligible or not eligible,” Huddleston said. “There's been some discussion on nutrition bars, been some discussions on the new probiotic drinks. So, those are all being worked through and worked out.”
How have stores been preparing?
Retailers have to go through their point-of-sale system and determine which products are SNAP eligible and which are not.
Huddleston said that process can look different for different companies depending on size. For example, a larger grocer, like Kroger, is typically more used to making changes in their system. He said there may be some cost involved, but not as much as what smaller grocers may have to take on.
“I wouldn't say it's more difficult, probably a little more time consuming and it may be more cost for the smaller retailer because they may have to hire outside programming or outside help,” Huddleston said.
He said once stores have the list and the items that are banned, it’s not all that time-consuming to implement.
“The time-consuming part will be at the check stand when the customer is asking, ‘I used to be able to buy this with my SNAP card, my Lone Star card, and now I can't,’” Huddleston said. “And then the checker explaining why they can't do it….Supermarkets will be doing training to make sure that the checker knows and have adequate knowledge to explain it to the customer.”
In addition, many stores will post signage to help consumers understand the new rules as they shop.
“The state's been giving each store the verbiage for the signage to be consistent across the marketplace,” Huddleston said. “Might be a little expensive in production of signage, but not much. It’s making sure that's ready to go April 1.”
What happens if retailers make a mistake?
The state will allow a 90-day grace period for retailers as they adjust to the new restrictions. If a store doesn’t adhere to the restrictions, even if accidentally, they could encounter a penalty.
Huddleston said the state is still working through who is responsible for monitoring stores and what the penalties might be.
While the implementation has cost retailers money, Huddleston said the program is extremely important to many grocers – especially in areas with a high number of SNAP recipients.
“It's something that supermarkets support and know that many customers need SNAP benefits,” Huddleston said. “We're going to try and make it as easy as possible for them to use their SNAP benefits.”
Abigail Ruhman is KERA’s health reporter. Got a tip? Email Abigail at aruhman@kera.org.
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