Policy & Practice | Fall 2023

Q: Who is participating in the pilot and what does it entail? RP: FNS selected five states to participate in the pilot—Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, and Oklahoma—and applauds these state agencies for volunteering the time and energy to test a new way of serving SNAP participants. The participating states will receive assis tance with mobile-friendly software that streamlines SNAP EBT transac tions at the point of service, train and educate SNAP recipients on how to use the new technologies, and provide data to FNS so the pilots can be evaluated. Check out our press release at https://www.fns.usda.gov/ news-item/fns-006.23 Q: What does FNS hope to learn from the pilot? RP: Digital wallets are changing the way we pay in the checkout line. Many people now instinctively reach for their phones to “tap” for contact less payment instead of taking a card out of their wallet to swipe. The pilots will evaluate how quickly clients can start using their SNAP benefits (compared to having to wait for an EBT card to arrive in the mail) and how effectively mobile payments prevent fraud, such as EBT card skimming or card cloning. Feedback from all pilot participants, including SNAP households, will also be col lected. This information will help inform FNS of best practices for future guidance and policies related to these programs. That kind of information will also be shared with states and other administering agencies so they, too, can make use of the evidence based knowledge we gain. Q: How long until SNAP recipients in these five states can utilize the new technology? RP: These are complex pilots involving a broad network of parties carefully coordinating efforts; because of this, we estimate that this technology won’t be available to SNAP shoppers for 1.5 to 2 years. FNS will provide updates on our progress via our website and mailing lists, just as we routinely do with our numerous initiatives.

Q: Why is FNS revising the regulations to support online shopping for WIC? RP: FNS heard feedback from WIC participants and advocates loud and clear—and we agree: families who shop for food using WIC benefits should have the same convenient shopping options everyone else has. Q: What innovations are coming to SNAP? We know there have been some major gains made with SNAP Online Shopping. RP: That’s correct. All 50 states and the District of Columbia now offer SNAP Online purchasing. In January 2023, around 9.0 percent of SNAP redemptions occurred online. Around 190 retailer chains are now live with SNAP online purchasing, representing thousands of actual stores, and we’re onboarding more each month. To provide a comparison: In January 2023, more than 4.3 million SNAP households shopped online, which is a substantial increase in the reach of the program since March 2020, when about 35,000 SNAP households shopped online. FNS also recently awarded a $5 million grant (see https://www.fns.usda.gov/news-item/ fns-0016.22 ) to help smaller indepen dent stores offer online shopping. Q: So what are the new upcoming changes coming to SNAP? RP: With mobile payment tech nology continuing to grow in prevalence and capability, FNS is establishing a SNAP mobile payment pilot (MPP) to explore the technology’s potential for SNAP participants. SNAP benefits are currently issued electroni cally through EBT, which works like debit card technology. These pilots will help FNS test mobile payment technology in SNAP—allowing people to input their EBT card information onto a mobile device, like a cell phone, and make SNAP payments using their device. And while WIC is still testing its initial foray into electronic payments and shopping, it’s only a matter of time before both programs are offering the digital conveniences to our beneficiaries that they’ve grown accustomed to in their day-to-day shopping experiences.

mailed out and re-loaded with benefits each month electronically. Overall, the proposed changes would advance nutrition security by improving the WIC shopping experience, making it easier for WIC participants to access nutritious foods. Q: When will WIC participants be able to shop online? RP: While FNS believes families who shop for food using WIC benefits should have the same convenient shopping options everyone else has, this process will take time. We have gathered feedback to inform the final rule—an important step forward in that process. While FNS works on the final rulemaking, some state agencies and vendors will begin piloting online shopping for WIC using waivers through a partnership with the Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition and FNS. States or vendors that are interested in being early offerors of online shopping for WIC can reach out to the Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition for more information. Q: Are any of the temporary changes made during COVID proposed to be made permanent in this rule? RP: Yes. This rule would make per manent flexibilities that improved the experience of participants and simpli fied engagement with WIC—such as remote benefit issuance, transactions without the presence of a cashier, and virtual vendor monitoring. This proposed rule was informed by extensive engagement with the WIC community, including feedback on waivers of WIC regulatory require ments issued to WIC state agencies as part of USDA’s COVID-19 response. Nearly all WIC state agencies reported that certain COVID-19 waivers, including remote benefit issuance waivers, ultimately made WIC safer, more accessible, and more convenient for participants’ schedules. A list of WIC COVID waivers can be viewed at https://www.fns.usda.gov/disaster assistance/wic-covid-19-waivers. A broader list of FNS-wide COVID waivers can be viewed at https://www .fns.usda.gov/coronavirus-response

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Fall 2023 Policy & Practice