Quick Bites: Foodservice Has a Lot on Its Plate

SNAP DECISIONS

Increased funding and bipartisan legislation seek to expand EBT foodservice options for recipients and c-stores.

Anne Baye Ericksen • Contributing Editor

When the novel coronavirus

hit in spring 2020, record numbers of people signed up for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

In 2018, 39.7 million Americans were enrolled, and by 2021, that jumped to 42 million. Because convenience stores account for 45% of the approximate 248,000 SNAP-qualifi ed retailers, these developments equated to more electronic benefi ts transfer (EBT) transactions.

“Rutter’s realized an almost 64% increase in EBT sales dollars and 39% increase in EBT transactions in 2020 versus 2019. (And) 2021 saw an additional increase of almost 29% in EBT sales dollars compared to 2020,” noted Chris Hartman, director of fuels, forecourt and advertising for Rutter’s. Prior to 2009, the York, Pa., family-owned business had only a few sites accepting EBT sales, but since a rule change enacted that year, all 78 stores now participate.

RaceTrac has been a SNAP provider for more than 10 years, and it, too, registered a signifi cant increase of qualifi ed purchases.

“From March 2020 to March 2021, the percentage of EBT transactions at our stores nearly doubled. Moreover, stores saw a 65% increase in EBT dollars used,” said Eva Rigamonti, associate general counsel and executive director of public policy for the Atlanta-based company, which owns and operates 558 stores.

“Our presence in rural, suburban and urban areas throughout the Southeast allows us to play an important role in providing food to low-income families through SNAP,” she added. “For benefi ciaries, our stores serve as critical locations to access competitively priced, SNAP-eligible foods during extended hours when other food retailers are closed.”

SUPPLEMENTING SNAP

Established in 1975, SNAP falls under the purview of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) directive. Benefi ciaries may use