Retailers prep for SNAP junk food limits; app will help

More than 2,500 Arkansas retailers along with beneficiaries are preparing for the state’s ban on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits being used to purchase soft drinks, candy and other unhealthy food.

The new policy goes into effect starting July 1 and comes as a result of a state waiver granted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. SNAP beneficiaries will not longer be able to use the program to purchase soft drinks, fruit and vegetable drinks with less than 50% natural juice, unhealthy drinks and candy.

Gov. Sarah Sanders, whose Department of Human Services (DHS) sought the five-year waiver, touted its benefits during a news conference June 29 at a North Little Rock Edwards Food Giant grocery store.

She said she had sent a letter to President Trump before he took office saying the state would work to remove soft drinks and candy from eligibility for SNAP, previously known as food stamps.

She said the nation faces a costly chronic disease epidemic and that the Arkansas Medicaid program spends at least $300 million a year treating chronic illness. She referenced a 2014 Stanford study that found that banning the use of SNAP benefits for sugary drinks would reduce nationwide obesity by 141,000 children ages 5-18 and would reduce Type 2 diabetes cases among adults by 240,000.

“One third of our state is diabetic or pre-diabetic,” she said. “It’s even crazier when you consider that on one floor of DHS, our state has been approving food stamp purchases for soft drinks and candy, while on another floor, our state’s Medicaid program is paying to treat the chronic diseases those products can help create.”

Sanders said the government is not dictating what recipients buy with their own money.

“We’re simply saying the taxpayer is not going to subsidize candy and soft drinks, and is instead going to point food stamp recipients toward healthier, more nutritious foods,” she said.

The governor and Department of Human Services officials touted a new AR SNAP Companion mobile application that lets users scan a bar code to determine if a grocery item is eligible. Users will see a green check if an item is eligible, a red “X” if it is not, or a question mark if the app does not recognize the item. The app also explains why an item might not be eligible and offers alternatives that are.

DHS also has partnered with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Culinary Medicine program to produce a series of “Make it Snappy” videos hosted by Alyssa Frisby, a registered and licensed dietitian and chef.

The free app is available at Apple and Android app stores and can be downloaded from the state’s SNAP website at ar.gov/SNAP.

Steve Goode, executive director of the Arkansas Grocers and Retail Merchants Association, said retailers have been updating software, training employees and communicating with customers. When a customer checks out their cart full of groceries, the point of sale equipment will indicate which items are approved.

In an interview following the news conference, Goode said certain products have not been eligible for SNAP for years, such as pet food, toilet paper and alcohol, but this will represent an operational change.

DHS has contracted with Sifter to provide a list of products to point of sale providers.

He noted that producers are constantly introducing new items that will require Sifter to update the app daily.

Goode said stores with locations in other states that have already enacted SNAP junk food bans probably are more prepared for the change. However, independent grocers are good at adapting. He said DHS county officials and stores have been trying to educate beneficiaries about the change.

He said stores don’t want customers to load up their buggies with soft drinks and candy planning to celebrate the 4th of July only to learn those products are no longer eligible.

“As far as the operational change rolling out that weekend, it is what it is, and our retailers are very adept at being prepared and being able to take change and deal with it,” he said. “So I think they’ll be ready.”