This proposed rule would implement provisions of the Food Stamp Program Improvements Act of 1994 (PL 103-205) to revise the criteria for eligibility of firms to participate in the Food Stamp Program (FSP) as retail food stores, and to provide for notification to such firms of eligibility criteria for participation in the FSP.
The intended effect of this proposed rule is to ensure that food stamp recipients continue to have adequate access to retail food stores where they can purchase a wide variety of nutritious food items, intended for home preparation and consumption, that meet their daily food needs, and to clarify procedures and eligibility requirements for authorizing participation in the FSP as a retail food store.
This proposed rule also reinserts part of a sentence inadvertently removed from the regulations by an earlier rule, and replaces references to the Secretary of Health and Human Services with references to the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration.