Most of the 42 million Americans who receive food stamps aren’t allowed to use them to shop for groceries online — and some lawmakers and state governments are rushing to change that amid the coronavirus crisis
Most of the 42 million Americans who receive food stamps aren’t allowed to use them to shop for groceries online — and some lawmakers and state governments are rushing to change that as the newly jobless flood onto the rolls of the nutrition assistance program.
Yet it's unclear how quickly USDA will be able to move. A department spokesperson told POLITICO that the department will work with states to help them offer online shopping through the SNAP program. California is one state that has requested permission from USDA to build a program. New York became the first state to introduce a program for online grocery orders only last year. It was followed by Washington, Alabama, Iowa and Oregon. Nebraska’s program launched last week. Maryland and New Jersey were also named as participants in the pilot program, but they haven’t started offering online ordering yet.
Alabama moved up the introduction of SNAP online ordering statewide because of concerns about how recommendations to stay home affects people’s ability to buy food, said Brandon Hardin, director of the Food Assistance Division at the state’s department of human resources.and the program expanded to other vendors and the rest of the state when the pandemic spread, he said.
Washington state, which was one of the first places to be hit by the pandemic, has seen a similar increase in signups, and officials expect participation in online ordering to rise as the outbreak continues, said Babs Roberts, director of the Community Services Division. Application rates for the state’s food assistance programs have soared about 80 percent in the last two weeks, she said.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Central Park Still Busy as NYC Coronavirus Apex NearsNYC residents are still risking coronavirus exposure for a walk in the park.
Read more »
Coronavirus: Andrew Zimmern says Americans 'need to be using food as a prescription for better health’Andrew Zimmern, host of MSNBC's 'What's Eating America,' discusses COVID-19's impact on America and the food industry.
Read more »
L.A. releases first racial breakdown of coronavirus fatalities; blacks have higher death rateCoronavirus: L.A. releases first racial breakdown of fatalities; African Americans have higher death rate
Read more »
Only 1 person per 120 square feet: Kroger to limit shoppers entering stores due to COVID-19 concernsKroger said Ohio stores will post limits on the number of shoppers permitted inside stores at a given time to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Read more »