This action proposes to revise the initial application processing timeframe for retail food stores and wholesale food concerns that apply for authorization to accept and redeem food stamp benefits and clarify verification requirements.
In the past, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has relied on a series of large surveys to gather and compare information on food expenditures and food consumption among participants and non-participants to better understand the impacts of the Food Stamp Program (FSP) on the diet and nutritional status of program participants. Studies based on survey data, however, have a number of drawbacks, including the time and expense of collecting the survey data, sampling error, response bias, errors in respondent recall, and misinformation about what may have been purchased or consumed.
This proposed rule would implement provisions of the Food Stamp Program Improvements Act of 1994 to revise the criteria for eligibility of firms to participate in the Food Stamp Program as retail food stores, and to provide for notification to such firms of eligibility criteria for participation in the FSP.
The purpose of this final rule is to implement the Food Stamp Program retailer provisions included in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, as well as the retailer provision included in the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act.