This article is featured in the October edition of Mass Market Retailers.
WASHINGTON — Convenience retailers are seeking additional time to comply with new federal SNAP stocking requirements as state purchase restrictions add costs and complexity at checkout. With a November 4 deadline approaching, operators warn that the combined demands could jeopardize participation in the food assistance program.
Twelve Republican senators, led by Jim Justice of West Virginia and Roger Marshall of Kansas, asked Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to delay enforcement for six months, until May 4, 2027. Their September 29 letter said small operators need time to identify assortment gaps, source qualifying products, and restock shelves and coolers.
The appeal follows an August 31 industry letter, signed by more than 200 companies, including 7-Eleven, Casey’s General Stores, Cumberland Farms, Maverik and Nouria. Retailers requested six months to comply after the USDA published implementation guidance.
On September 4, the USDA released guidance and later that month introduced a stocking standards calculator. The senators said questions remained, particularly for single-store businesses without dedicated compliance staff.
The updated standards increase the required assortment from three to seven varieties across four staple food categories: dairy, grains, protein, and vegetables or fruits. Covered retailers must carry at least three units of each variety, totaling 84 units across 28 varieties. At least one variety in each of three categories must be perishable.
For c-stores, expansion affects shelf space, refrigeration, and replenishment. NACS reports that many operators receive deliveries only once or twice weekly, complicating perishable inventory management.
Retailers must also reassess which products qualify. Jerky and butter no longer count as staple foods. Plant-based dairy alternatives, nuts, and seeds qualify, as do fruits and vegetables that are simply cut or sliced in-store.
“But retailers need time to comply, and November 4 is just too soon,” said Margaret Mannion, director of government relations at NACS. The association warns that losing participating stores could reduce community access to food.
Separately, USDA is accepting comments through October 15 regarding purchase-restriction waivers in 18 states. NACS urges retailers to document implementation costs and the confusion caused by differing definitions. A product restricted in one state may remain eligible in another.
The process excludes Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee, and West Virginia, where a federal court vacated waivers over the summer, according to NACS.
Joe Lackey, president of the Indiana Grocery and Convenience Store Association, said in comments to local media that participating stores in Indiana modified hundreds of product codes at their own expense to implement candy and soft drink restrictions. Training added costs, and cashiers had to explain the changes.
“Our store employees had to be the ones to basically educate the consumer and explain to them why they could no longer buy candy and soft drinks, and that was not a pleasant activity,” said Lackey.
Declining SNAP participation presents another potential pressure. Arizona grocery and convenience store employment fell about 2% in the first quarter of 2026, compared with a year earlier, versus roughly 0.5% nationally. Total sector wages fell about 3.3%, compared with less than 1% nationwide, according to the Arizona Center for Economic Progress.
The declines coincided with about 175,000 fewer Arizona SNAP participants from December 2025 to March 2026. The progressive policy organization warned of reduced purchasing power, though its analysis does not establish that enrollment losses caused the employment and payroll declines.
More than 117,000 c-stores participate in SNAP, representing nearly half of authorized retailers. NACS argues that preserving those outlets is critical for shoppers with limited transportation or nontraditional work schedules. It will submit retailers’ waiver comments to the USDA if it receives them by October 14.
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