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Diving overview:
- 5 SNAP consumers Sues USDA and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins About SNAP Waivers Provided by USDA Approved in 22 states.
- The lawsuit filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenges the waivers from five states — Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and West Virginia — and argues that the waivers are part of an effort by the USDA to undermine the SNAP program.
- The lawsuit alleges that USDA’s grant of a waiver violates the Administrative Procedure Act, the federal law governing administrative law procedures, and exceeds statutory authority granted under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008.
Dive Insights:
The lawsuit alleges that the waiver, which places state-by-state limits on foods eligible for SNAP benefits, has caused irreparable harm to plaintiffs and increased “onerous compliance burdens on retailers.”
State agencies have some say in how they administer SNAP, but they point out that they have followed national requirements for the past 60 years and that consistency in how they define food under SNAP provides clarity for consumers and retailers.
The Trump administration has said waivers will be made. SNAP Helps Consumers Buy Healthier Foods. USDA declined to comment on pending litigation.
For retailers, the exemption requires them to do significant upfront work to determine item eligibility, and only Oklahoma has created a universal list of product codes linked to that state’s exemption, the suit alleges. The five exemptions challenged in the lawsuit are for states that do not require a comprehensive list of permitted products.
“(Retailers) must make their own assessment as to whether a particular product is acceptable for SNAP under their state’s exemption…Given significant ambiguities in the various exemption definitions of ‘food,’ it will be impossible for many retailers to fully comply with the exemption,” the lawsuit claims.
Retailers that fulfill online orders across state lines must incorporate state exemptions into their e-commerce operations. Grocery stores also face the burden of training store employees, according to the lawsuit. That’s because cashiers must explain to customers why the items they’re trying to buy are no longer eligible for SNAP.
If a retailer refuses a purchase and the recipient disagrees, there is no meaningful mechanism to appeal that decision, according to the complaint. It states that grocers face a “short grace period” to comply with the restrictions.
The state exemption prohibits plaintiffs from using SNAP benefits to buy items they need to manage chronic illnesses and eating disorders and stay hydrated, the suit alleges.
The lawsuit adds that the state exemption does not serve any of the four statutory purposes allowed for pilot projects that the Secretary of Agriculture may approve. The lawsuit also alleges that USDA failed to follow notice and comment procedures and did not give SNAP recipients, retailers, or other stakeholders an opportunity to submit comments before the department approved the waiver.
The USDA rejected similar proposals to limit SNAP purchases in Maine and Nevada in 2018, according to the lawsuit.
“The granting of food restriction exemptions is arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, and contrary to the law,” the lawsuit claims.
