(April 18, 2019) – On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the launch of a pilot program to test online transactions using benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. The two-year pilot, authorized in the 2014 Farm Bill, will begin in New York, before expanding to Alabama, Iowa, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington in coming years. It will allow SNAP participants to use their Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards to purchase eligible food items through the Amazon, Walmart and ShopRite online portals. House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations Chair Marcia L. Fudge issued the following statement on the pilot:

“With more and more people looking to online retailers for the products they need, this pilot represents a timely analysis of ways we can modernize the SNAP program,” said Fudge. “I am interested to see the results of these pilots, particularly their ability to address the issue of food access in food deserts. As a part of the analysis of the pilots, I plan to pay close attention to data related to the security of delivery of food to SNAP recipients in hard to reach areas. Limited access to healthy foods is something that impacts Americans living in urban centers like New York and Baltimore, and those living in rural Nebraska and Iowa. This pilot should show the potential of e-commerce to improve access to food for hungry people in my district and across the country. However, though I am cautiously optimistic about the potential of the pilots, I cannot stress enough that I remain concerned about USDA’s overall efforts to cut access to SNAP and eliminate benefits for many of the people the program aims to serve.”