Mary Franklin, director of the Arkansas Department of Human Services Division of County Operations, speaks to the ALC on Tuesday. Screenshot: Courtesy of the Arkansas Legislature
State Sen. Jonathan Dismang (R-Searcy) on Tuesday voiced concern about changes to SNAP that could put some rural Arkansans at risk if the state doesn't provide clear guidelines on new rules, Arkansas Advocate reported.
The big picture: This year, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders requested a waiver from USDA to ban candy and sugary drinks from being purchased with SNAP benefits.
USDA granted the waiver, and the new rules are set to take effect on July 1.
State of play: Retailers have three options for how to identify and keep lists of ineligible foods, the Arkansas Advocate reported from an Arkansas Legislative Council subcommittee meeting.
Two of those are to use Department of Human Services guidance or a third-party contractor to apply the GS1 Global Product Classification standard to food products.
The third option is to use broad definitions and have retailers apply it "in good faith," Mary Franklin, director of the Arkansas Department of Human Services Division of County Operations, told the committee.
What they're saying: "What I'm scared you're going to do is create a scenario where entities, probably in areas that need it the most, are not going to be able to offer SNAP because of the risk associated with not appropriately categorizing an item," Dismang said.
What's next: Franklin said she and other DHS administrators have no intention of pushing businesses out of SNAP and will discuss Dismang's feedback.
