Food stamp data show thousands of liquor, smoke shops are approved for EBT, raising fraud concerns

https://justthenews.com/accountability/waste-fraud-and-abuse/mon-new-food-stamp-data-show-thousands-liquor-and-smoke-shops

More than 5,000 liquor and smoke shops were approved as retailers under SNAP, raising fraud concerns. There's no way to determine how much alcohol, tobacco, or other "non-compliant" goods have been sold nationwide. At least 20 states refuse to share data with the feds.

• Dig Deeper

Food stamps were first issued in 1939 as an assistance program to prevent starvation during the Great Depression.  But 86 years later, thousands of liquor stores and smoke shops have become approved retailers, increasing the possibility of fraud, new research shows. 

The longest ever government shutdown, which ended after 43 days of deadlock, thrust the federal food stamp program into the national spotlight as millions of recipients went without benefits. But, it also laid bare many abuses in the system.   

Even before the shutdown, the Trump administration planned to crack down on fraud in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program and ensure any government assistance is used for healthy and nutritional foods, not junk. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act made specific changes to qualifying for the program, as well as a redefined list of products for which SNAP cannot be used.

An analysis of SNAP retailer data by the Foundation for Government Accountability published on Monday found that more than 5,000 liquor and smoke shops were approved retailers under the program, meaning they can accept food stamps, according to research findings shared exclusively with Just the News.