Food stamp use at thousands of convenience stores is in peril if the U.S. Department of Agriculture starts enforcing a rule set to go into effect Nov. 4 demanding c-stores carry more fresh produce and protein.
This warning came in an Aug. 31 letter from the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), National Association of Truck Stop Owners (NATSO) and SIGMA: America’s Leading Fuel Marketers—and signed by more than 200 hundred c-stores—to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
The letter was regarding “Ensuring Adequate Implementation Time for SNAP Stocking Standards Rule.”
In May, the USDA issued a final rule requiring retailers that accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits—also called food stamps—“to meet the expanded stocking standards by Nov. 4,” Reuters reported Sept. 3.
“The undersigned convenience and fuel retail companies operate tens of thousands of stores in all 50 states, serving as SNAP-authorized retailers in communities that often have no other food retail options nearby,” according to the letter provided to CSP from NATSO.
The letter requests that the USDA defers enforcement of its final rule on Updated Staple Food Stocking Standards for Retailers in SNAP, which was published May 8, “until six months after the agency publishes official implementation guidance.”
The rule will go into effect Nov. 4 if no action is taken, “risking tens of thousands of retailers losing their SNAP authorization on day one,” the letter states.
“We have waited for months for the release of the official guidance that we need in order to comply with the new rule,” the letter states. “But aside from the initial retailer notice announcing the final rule’s publication in May, no additional information has been provided.”
Members of the c-store industry process more than 160 million transactions daily, the equivalent of serving about half of the U.S. population, according to the letter.
“Ninety-three percent of Americans live within 10 minutes of one of our industry’s locations, and our stores are particularly important in urban and rural areas of the country that might not have as many large businesses,” according to the letter. “In these locations, the convenience store not only serves as the place to get fuel but is often the grocery store and center of a community.”
A USDA spokesperson said the agency “appreciates hearing from these trade associations and stands by to aid their member companies as they work to stock 28 varieties of staple food items,” Reuters reported.
To accept SNAP benefits, the USDA rule requires retailers to offer a minimum of seven varieties in each of four staple food categories: dairy, including plant-based alternatives; grains; protein; and vegetables or fruits, according to the USDA.
“Our stores are essential in SNAP,” the letter continued. “More than 117,000 convenience stores participate in the program, the largest share of any store format and accounting for nearly half of all SNAP-authorized stores. Convenience stores are also one of the only store formats that are primarily open 24 hours and seven days per week. This is a critical help for families that need access to food during overnight or early morning hours—including for workers who have non-standard work schedules outside of the traditional 9-to-5 schedule and have limited time in which to shop. And for SNAP participants without a car or reliable transit, our locations may be the only option within walking distance.”
The letter also says that the 2026 final rule introduces a “complicated tiered variety structure that raises basic operational questions we cannot answer on our own. We need additional information and time to identify product gaps, source products that meet the new requirements, negotiate with existing distributors or finding new ones, and restock store shelves and coolers.”
Companies that signed the letter include 7-Eleven, Casey’s General Stores, Cumberland Farms, Loop Neighborhood Markets, Maverik, Nouria, RaceTrac, Sheetz, Stewart’s Shops and SunStop.
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