[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 166 (Tuesday, August 27, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52899-52900]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-20907]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Enhancing Retail 
Food Store Eligibility--Listening Sessions

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This Notice announces 5 listening sessions to support the 
Request for Information (RFI) published by FNS regarding Supplemental 
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) retailer eligibility requirements 
(78 FR 51136, August 20, 2013). As explained in the RFI, FNS is re-
examining SNAP retailer eligibility requirements in part because of 
concerns raised in a recent FNS report examining the trafficking rates 
at different types of retail food stores and a 2006 Government 
Accountability Office (GAO) report suggesting that the minimal stocking 
requirements in SNAP contribute to corrupt retailers entering the 
program. The FNS report is available at: http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/menu/Published/SNAP/FILES/ProgramIntegrity/Trafficking2009_Summary.pdf. The GAO report is available at: http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-07-53. Information on SNAP retailer eligibility 
requirements is available at: http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/retailers/store-eligibility.htm. The scheduled listening sessions provide an 
opportunity for FNS to seek public input on potential changes to 
retailer authorization requirements.

DATES: Listening sessions are scheduled in 5 cities: Wednesday, August 
28 in Ames, Iowa; Monday, September 9 in Baltimore, Maryland; Tuesday, 
September 10 in Greenville, Mississippi; Wednesday, September 11 in 
Chicago, Illinois; and Monday, September 16 in Los Angeles, California.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted through the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments electronically. Written comments 
can also be mailed or delivered to: Shanta Swezy, Chief, Retailer 
Management and Issuance Branch, Retailer Policy and Management 
Division, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Food and Nutrition 
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 
426, Alexandria, Virginia 22302.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact information is listed under 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  Complete information for the five scheduled 
listening sessions is as follows:

1. City/State: Ames, Iowa; Date: Wednesday, August 28, 2013; Time: 4 
p.m.-7 p.m.; Location: Iowa State University, Scheman Building Room 
275; Address: 400 Beach Ave Iowa State Center, Ames, IA 50011; Contact: 
Bart Bushman (303) 844-0310.
2. City/State: Baltimore, MD; Date: Monday, September 9, 2013; Time: 4 
p.m.-7 p.m.; Location: Enoch Pratt Central Library; Address: 400 
Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD 21201; Contact: Margarita Maisterrena 
(609) 259-5091.
3. City/State: Greenville, MS; Date: Tuesday, September 10, 2013. Time: 
5 p.m.-8 p.m. Location: Greenville Higher Education Center. Address: 
2900 A Highway 1 South, Greenville, MS; Contact: Debbie Smoot (404) 
562-1810.
4. City/State: Chicago, IL; Date: Wednesday, September 11, 2013; Time: 
4 p.m.-7 p.m.; Location: Walter Payton College Preparatory High School; 
Address: 1034 North Wells Street, Chicago, IL 60610; Contact: Alan 
Shannon (312) 353-1045.
5. City/State: Los Angeles, CA; Date: Monday, September 16, 2013; Time: 
4 p.m.-7 p.m.; Location: East Los Angeles Community Service Center; 
Address: 133 N. Sunol Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90063; Contact: Julie Yee 
(415) 705-1311.

    All sessions are open to the public and will be recorded. Each 
forum will begin with opening remarks from the USDA official charged 
with moderating the session. Both a sign language and a Spanish 
language interpreter will be available. Speakers' time will be limited 
to four minutes. Written comments will also be accepted at every 
session. Each session location is accessible to persons with 
disabilities.
    The Agency is seeking public input regarding the following 
questions, with particular attention to impacts of each on program 
integrity, healthy food choices, access to food, and retailer 
operations. Listening session attendees will be provided with a list of 
these questions at the forum site:
    1. Is ensuring that SNAP retailers provide SNAP clients access to 
healthy food choices a reasonable priority for establishing SNAP store 
eligibility criteria?
    2. Are there store types that clearly meet all of the Program goals 
and, consequently, should always be eligible for SNAP participation?
    3. Conversely, are there store types that do not effectively 
improve access to food choices (e.g., stores that sell low amounts of 
food when compared to the amounts of distilled liquor, tobacco and/or 
lottery tickets sold) and, therefore, should always be ineligible for 
SNAP participation?
    4. Would a different definition of the ``staple foods'' required in 
SNAP authorized stores help to ensure that these stores offer more 
healthy food choices? If so, what kinds of changes would be most 
effective? Specifically, almost all foods can be counted towards 
meeting staple food requirements,

[[Page 52900]]

including those high in added sugar, sodium or solid fats. Should foods 
high in these components be counted as staple foods when determining 
store authorization requirements?
    5. How should prepared foods with multiple ingredients, such as 
chicken pot pie or other frozen dinners, or single serving meat jerky 
packages, be treated with regards to ``staple foods'' categories?
    6. Do twelve items (the minimum amount necessary to meet SNAP 
authorization criterion A, by virtue of needing three varieties in the 
four different staple food categories) provide adequate variety for a 
retailer to further the Program's purpose? If not, what would be a more 
appropriate requirement?
    7. Currently, retailers who are authorized under criterion A are 
required to stock perishable items (e.g., fresh, frozen or refrigerated 
fruits and vegetables; dairy; meats, poultry and fish; bread or cereal) 
in two categories. Should perishable items be required in more than two 
categories?
    8. Are 50 percent of sales in staple foods, as currently required 
for criterion B, sufficient to ensure that a SNAP authorized store 
furthers the program's purpose, given the current definition of 
``staple foods?'' Would this percentage be sufficient if the definition 
of ``staple foods'' is changed to exclude items high in added sugar, 
sodium or solid fats?
    9. Should stores whose primary business (as evidenced by marketing, 
inventory or sales) is not the sale of food, be eligible to participate 
in SNAP?
    10. Restaurants are generally prohibited from being SNAP retailers, 
and hot foods cannot be purchased with SNAP benefits. However, there 
are authorized retailers who primarily sell food for immediate 
consumption, often on premises, but also sell their products cold and 
heat them for SNAP recipients immediately after purchase for a nominal 
fee. These stores qualify today based on the array of raw ingredients, 
such as unbaked pizza or raw fish. Should such stores be eligible for 
participation in SNAP?
    11. Should all retailers who meet SNAP eligibility criteria be 
authorized, even when sufficient store access for recipients is not a 
concern?
    12. If store access were a concern in an area where no store meets 
basic eligibility criteria for SNAP authorization, how should FNS 
select the stores to authorize that best serve the needs of the client 
population? Should FNS employ an evaluation and scoring system? If so, 
what criteria should make up such a system?
    13. How should integrity and management priorities be balanced 
against healthy food choice criteria in the SNAP authorization process? 
What elements could be used to assess integrity risks, and how should 
they be applied?
    14. Are there any other ways in which the criteria for retailer 
eligibility should be changed? If so, how?

    Dated: August 22, 2013.
Audrey Rowe,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-20907 Filed 8-26-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P