Government Affairs

State Legislative and Regulatory Toolkits

State Affairs Toolkits

Wine in Food Stores Research Toolkit

FMI has compiled research pertaining to the economic impact of allowing wine to be sold in food stores. Several states prohibit the sale of all alcoholic beverages in food stores, giving a monopoly on such sales to single-purpose stores, known as "package stores." Over the years several of these states have opened their markets, at least to wine, or beer, or wine and beer. However, 17 states still prohibit, or severely limit, the sale of wine in food stores. FMI suggests the time has come for states to remove barriers and enable food retailers to create more jobs in local communities, help consumers reduce their daily travel needs, and provide new sources of revenues for overburdened state and local budgets. Here you will find the FMI Wine Study: The Economic Impact of Allowing Shoppers to Purchase Wine in Food Stores, FMI's press release, and related studies conducted in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Tennessee.

SNAP Distribution Expansion Toolkit

Currently, nine states issue SNAP benefits on only one day, and others, on just three days. This creates a bottleneck for SNAP recipients and customers, as grocery lines become frustratingly long, on that one day. In addition, retailers have stocking issues and labor concerns as well. Stocking can be difficult for a retailer when they have to deal with their shelves being depleted after only one shopping day, and it is also difficult to keep labor for only a day or two surrounding that one busy day of the month

FMI Support of SNAP Distribution Expansion
State-by-State Monthly SNAP Benefit Issuance Shedule - FMI has compiled a 50 state chart detailing the distribution date of state SNAP benefits. Currently, nine states distribute SNAP benefits on one day. This number will change to eight, when Virginia begins their expansion to four days in September 2012.
Staggered Issuance Letter - In February 2012, USDA sent a letter to all states clarifying that USDA supports the staggering of SNAP benefits throughout the month – not just on a handful of days. In the letter, USDA asserts its stance: “… issuing SNAP benefits on a single day or over a limited number of days instead of staggering issuance over the course of the month, puts an unnecessary strain on SNAP clients and on participating retailers by causing surges in customer traffic at SNAP authorized stores.”
Authority: States have the authority to stagger SNAP benefit issuance over the entire month as long as no participant goes longer than forty days between benefit issuance days.
Issuance Regulation Update and Reorganization to Reflect End of Coupon Issuance Systems” (Final Rule) Federal Register 75:69 (April 12, 2010) p. 18384 (§ 274.2 Providing Benefits to Participants) www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2010-04-12/pdf/2010-8200.pdf
Food And Nutrition Act of 2008: See: Sec. 7. (7 U.S.C. 2016) Issuance and Use of Program Benefits www.fns.usda.gov/snap/rules/Legislation/pdfs/PL_110-246.pdf
Benefit Redemption Patterns in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - February 2011
- Report Summary
- Entire Report
Georgia Letter - Beginning in September 2012, Georgia will expand their SNAP benefit distribution dates. Here is a letter from the state DHS Commissioner announcing the upcoming change to the distribution schedule for SNAP benefits.
Here are two posters, one in English and one in Spanish that Georgia grocery stores may use to inform their employees and SNAP recipients of the change in SNAP distribution schedule.
- English
- Spanish
North Carolina Letter - The NC Department of Health and Human Services wrote a letter detailing how their state successfully spread their SNAP distribution days from ten days to nineteen days in 2011.
FMI Press - Shelby Report article on Tennessee SNAP Expansion with a national perspective by FMI