Dive Brief:
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The United States Department of Agriculture Monday announced it’s taking public comment on proposed regulations that would require the disclosure of how much money retailers take in from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, according to a notice in the Federal Register.
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The rules, which would require that monthly or annual amounts taken in from the SNAP program be disclosed, would apply to retailers who accept food stamps, not to the program’s beneficiaries.
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The proposal is a result of a ruling in the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of a Sioux Falls, SD newspaper, which had requested information about how much SNAP money retailers receive in a Freedom of Information Act request. The USDA had argued that the information fell under a FOIA exemption for confidential business information, but the appeals court said it wouldn’t because the numbers come from a government agency, not the businesses.
Dive Insight:
This proposed level of transparency about SNAP money spent at U.S. retailers would especially affect discount retailers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Wal-Mart has already acknowledged its dependence on SNAP benefits when it attributed some of its recent performance declines to cuts in SNAP benefits. At the very least, the information would give consumers a clearer picture of how lower-income people and taxpayer-funded benefits help sustain some retailers.