Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor, has struck a deal with Donald Trump to secure a 90-day delay on new rules for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap), so that bodegas and corner stores across the country have time to comply.
The extension, Mamdani said, starts Friday as a result of conversations he had with Trump and Brooke Rollins, the agriculture secretary.
The new guidelines, implemented by the US agriculture department, which retailers would have had to meet by 4 November, require stores to stock at least seven varieties within each staple food category: dairy, grains, protein and fruits or vegetables. Retailers would also have to ensure that they offer perishable items in three of the staple food categories.
The new guidelines threw the lives of “more than a million New Yorkers” and “tens of milllions more across America” into “chaos”, the mayor said at a press conference on Friday.
“People already reckoning with a shortage of affordable places to buy what they need for their home, soaring costs at the register, and food deserts across the five boroughs, now feared that the few places they could shop would no longer be able to accept their benefits,” Mamdani said.
Several advocates were concerned that the new rules would mean people relying on Snap would be unable to buy groceries at their only accessible store. According to the Food Research and Action Center, bodegas, convenience stores and small grocery stores make up roughly 70% of Snap retailers.
Given the tight timeframe to adjust their stock and meet the new requirements, small retailers ran the risk of going out of business if they couldn’t accept Snap benefits, the mayor said.
“For so many of our fellow Americans, whether they shop at a general store in Michigan or a convenience store in Missouri, would have struggled to use their benefits and feed those they love.”
More than 100 bodega owners reached out to Mamdani’s office with concerns about the new rule. According to the New York Citydepartment of city planning, there are more than 10,000 bodegas and corner stores across the five boroughs.
