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Abstract
Executive Summary: The Agricultural Act of 2014, Section 4002 (otherwise known as the 2014 Farm Bill), aims to reduce fraud by requiring all Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)–authorized retailers to use scanning technologies to redeem SNAP benefits unless the retailer is located in a geographic region that has severe food access limitations. In 1998, an average of 32 percent of SNAP-authorized retailers used scanning systems, and of these retailers, only 5 to 25 percent were small retailers (U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA], Food and Nutrition Service [FNS], 1998). In the last 20 years, electronic benefit transfer (EBT) has been fully implemented, and scanning systems have evolved. Despite these technological advances, some small retailers still do not use a scanning system or have an older system that lacks the ability to identify SNAP-eligible products. This study sought to provide accurate and up-to-date information on adoption of scanning technology among small SNAP-authorized retailers to assess readiness for meeting the Farm Bill requirement, the barriers and benefits to adoption of scanning technologies, and the per-store and total industry cost for nonadopters to meet the Farm Bill requirement.