Grocery stores and gas stations that accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are required to offer more perishable foods and variety under a new federal rule, which went into effect Nov. 4.
The Trump administration said the changes would provide vulnerable families with a “broader variety of nutritious food” and “demand more accountability from retailers” in a press release earlier this year.
“This rule puts real food back at the center of SNAP,” U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stated.
But multiple retail associations, food banks and a dozen Republican U.S. senators, including Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, have warned that the timeline is too fast for small grocers and convenience store owners to comply.
They say this could lead to fewer SNAP-authorized retailers, resulting in fewer options for low-income households to buy food, especially in rural areas.
What are the changes?
Before the new rule took effect, the U.S. Department of Agriculture required SNAP-authorized retailers to carry at least three varieties of food in each of the four staple categories: dairy, grains, protein and vegetables or fruits.
Now, retailers must offer at least seven varieties of food in each category. For example, bananas and grapes count as two varieties in the ‘vegetables or fruits’ category, while fresh tomatoes and tomato paste qualify as one.
Retailers are also required to offer one perishable variety — which could be fresh, refrigerated or frozen — in at least three of the food categories instead of two. And certain foods, like jerky and snack bars, no longer qualify under the new standards.
Calls for a delay
While the process to upgrade the stocking requirements began last year, the USDA did not issue official guidance to retailers until September 2026.
“That's a tough turnaround for businesses because again, when the guidance documents come out, oftentimes it generates more questions for which businesses are seeking answers,” said John Maynes, president of government affairs for FUELIowa.
The nonprofit trade association includes roughly 2,000 convenience stores across all 99 counties. In Iowa and across the U.S., convenience stores account for nearly half of all SNAP-authorized retailers.
“Many retailers participate in the SNAP program because of their relationship within their community,” Maynes said.
But the new requirements, along with other back-and-forth changes to product eligibility in the federal food assistance program, have caused confusion and additional challenges for stores, he added.
Maynes and the Center for Rural Affairs said convenience stores, especially in low population areas, are more at risk of products spoiling and lost profits with the new stocking standards. They also tend to have limited space to add inventory. The average square footage of a convenience store is 11 times smaller than a supermarket, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores.
NACS, along with other associations for truck stops and fuel markets, repeatedly asked the USDA for a six-month delay and more guidance for implementing the changes. Casey's General Stores was one of six Iowa companies and nearly 250 across the U.S. that signed one of the joint letters.
Grassley and other U.S. senators also sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins in late September, asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture to delay enforcement for six months.
“If no delay is granted, tens of thousands of well-meaning retailers will be at risk of losing their SNAP authorization on day one,” they stated.
Katie Sorrell, the executive director of the Iowa Food Bank Association, said the umbrella organization has supported a sixth month delay, as well.
“We want SNAP participants to have options,” Sorrell said. “We just want to make sure these small stores have time to build the infrastructure, figure out how to store the food and display the food, and have space for that.”
The USDA has an appeals process for retailers flagged as non-compliant, said Paige Chickering, the vice chair of the Iowa Hunger Coalition and the Iowa State Manager for Save the Children Action Network. But a store that loses its SNAP authorization must wait six months before applying again. Chickering said the “worst-cast scenario” with the new rule would be fewer retailers accepting SNAP benefits.
“The folks who are likely to be impacted by this are smaller convenience stores, and what is particularly critical to understand about that is, those are the options that are often available for folks in more rural areas,” Chickering said.
A growing need for assistance
Director Missy Loux said the four food pantries in Wright County, plus homebound deliveries in three communities, served nearly 1,000 people per month.
The top 10 Iowa counties with the highest levels of food insecurity last year were largely rural. Chickering added that SNAP recirculates money in rural economies by freeing up household dollars for rent, childcare, medical bills or other costs.
Previous studies estimate each federal dollar invested in SNAP benefits can generate up to $1.80 in economic activity during a recession.
The possibility of fewer SNAP-authorized stores adds to the concerns hunger advocacy organizations have raised following massive funding cuts to the federal program, along with more stringent work requirements and eligibility losses.
These changes come as the need for food assistance grows. Pantries across Iowa are reporting record-breaking numbers of people, Chickering said.
“A lot of the folks that they're serving are new faces in their community, so first-time pantry visitors who’ve really been pushed over the edge by higher prices, whether that's at the grocery store, in their healthcare, at the gas station,” Chickering said.
Pantries in Iowa and across the U.S. are vital, she added. But emergency feeding networks operate in tandem with SNAP, which she described as a lifeline for families.
