Author: Benjamin Chrisinger, Assistant Professor of Community Health, Tufts University

After 10 states began to add new restrictions to what people could buy with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in early 2026, the number of convenience stores authorized to accept those benefits was 1.4% lower than would be expected based on trends in states without the policy change. That’s what we found in our study, […]

The more than 250,000 shops and stores that accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits as payment for groceries will have to meet tougher requirements starting on Nov. 4, 2026, according to new U.S. Department of Agriculture rules. Any retailers that accept SNAP benefits from their customers will have to stock a wider variety of food, […]