Alabama Among First States Where Shoppers Can Use Food Stamps On Amazon And Walmart Online

By Mike Dorning and Leslie PattonBloomberg

The U.S. government is testing a plan to allow food-stamp purchases through grocers online, potentially opening a $61 billion annual market to companies such as Amazon.com Inc., Walmart Inc. and Instacart Inc.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the start of a two-year pilot in New York testing online purchases of groceries by beneficiaries of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known colloquially by its former name, food stamps.

“People who receive SNAP benefits should have the opportunity to shop for food the same way more and more Americans shop for food – by ordering and paying for groceries online,” Perdue said in the statement Thursday.Initially, Amazon will provide the service in the New York City area, with ShopRite joining early next week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement. Walmart will handle the service in parts of upstate New York. Additional online retailers will be added in the coming months and the pilot will eventually expand to other areas of New York along with Alabama, Iowa, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington state.

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