New EBT Program?

The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) is pushing a program it says will provide relief to beleaguered farmers while a the same time providing additional nutritional assistance for families that lack enough protein in their diets.

And the vehicle proposed for providing that assistance is--electronic benefits transfer.

NASDA wants USDA to take excess pork, dairy and poultry inventories off the market through commodity purchases and make the products available to the public through various feeding programs like school lunch and SNAP.

Under the plan SNAP shoppers would receive additional benefits to purchase meat and dairy products through retail food stores, NASDA president Ed Kee tells the Sussex Countian newspaper of Delaware.

Here's the kicker: SNAP shoppers would receive an extra EBT card to cover the additional allotment, says Mr. Kee, who also serves as the First State's secretary of agriculture.

If NASDA's planned "protein supplement" comes to pass it will mark a milestone--the first time EBT technology has been extended to nutrition programs outside of SNAP and WIC.

That will truly mark the beginning of EBT's Next Generation.



For more information on where EBT is headed, attend this year's EBT The Next Generation conference Nov. 8-10 in New Orleans. For the latest agenda news or to register, click here.

The Changing Face of SNAP

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Thursday announced that six state agencies have been awarded grants to increase participation in the SNAP program. The lucky six are:

• Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance


• Michigan Department of Human Services


• Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services


• Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare


• Wisconsin Department of Health Services


• Washington Department of Social and Health Services

Congratulations to the agencies. They will be using to money to increase education and outreach about the program to various at-risk populations. The announcement demonstrates how much the SNAP program has changed in 20 years. We've seen it move from paper coupons to plastic cards. From a queue up at the welfare office to a smooth in-lane process at the grocery store. From a "welfare" program to a supplemental nutrition program. From an afterthought to the tip of the spear in disaster recovery.

These changes reflect the changes in the country over the past two decades such as greater emphasis on targeted programs. They also reflect a re-shaping of thought on nutrition education, beginning with the new food pyramid, and including the new WIC food package and the increasingly important role that farmers markets play in nutrition.

But many of these changes would not have been possible without the role that technology has played. This includes disaster food plans that are effective in hours, not days, and the ability for states in disparate regions to "buddy up" when one is subject to a disaster. It includes faster and more robust point of sale equipment, and the ability to issue true multi-application payment cards.

These technologies are not administrative spending gone to waste. The provide a way for states to make positive changes in the lives of people in ever increasing ways.

Posted by Bob September 21, 2009

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For more information on how technology is helping change the face of SNAP, WIC and other programs, attend EBT The Next Generation-the only education and training conference devoted exclusively to EBT. For more information, click here.