The U.S. Department of Agriculture will give grocery and convenience stores 90 more days before it enforces expanded stocking rules for retailers that accept SNAP, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Friday. The pause applies nationwide, the mayor’s office said. A USDA spokesperson confirmed the additional 90 days to Politico, according to City & State.
The rules were originally due for implementation Nov. 4. Stores that rely on their inventory to qualify for the program need more varieties of staple foods on their shelves to keep accepting benefits. For a neighborhood shop with limited refrigerator space, that can mean finding room for foods that spoil and suppliers that can deliver them regularly. For a shopper who depends on that store, the extra time may help preserve a nearby place to use an EBT card.
What stores still have to stock
Under the federal rule, a store qualifying through its inventory generally needs seven varieties in each of four categories: dairy, grains, protein, and fruits or vegetables. That makes 28 varieties. At three stocking units per variety, the minimum comes to 84 units. At least one variety must be perishable in three of the four categories.
A separate eligibility route applies when staple foods account for more than half of a store’s gross retail sales. A specialty retailer, such as a produce stand or butcher shop, can qualify through those sales without having to stock foods from all four categories. For stores using the inventory route, the same main ingredient can sometimes count in more than one form. The rule gives the example of raw ground beef, frozen beef ravioli and shelf-stable beef stew counting as three distinct varieties. A shop that comes up short during a USDA visit can also show invoices or receipts for qualifying stock it ordered or received within the previous 21 calendar days.
What the pause changes for shoppers
The extra time concerns store authorization. Household eligibility and monthly benefit amounts are governed by separate SNAP rules. Shoppers looking for another place to use their benefits can search USDA’s SNAP Retailer Locator by ZIP code.
Mamdani’s office said New York City agencies will work with USDA to help shop owners meet the requirements. The city’s announcement did not specify a new calendar deadline or say what happens to stores that may already have lost authorization under the new standards. Retailers with a USDA notice about their own authorization should check with the agency about how the pause applies to that notice.
