The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a cornerstone of the United States' effort to combat hunger among low-income citizens, has recently come under intense examination. An analysis by the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) found that over 5,000 liquor stores and smoke shops have been approved as SNAP retailers. This revelation raises significant questions about the potential for fraud and the misdirection of assistance away from the program’s intended beneficiaries.
The FGA's findings highlight a substantial number of retailers with "alcohol" or "tobacco" in their names, numbering over 4,000 and 1,000 respectively, are authorized to accept food stamps. These numbers may not fully encapsulate the extent of the issue, as they only account for those explicitly mentioning such products. Senior data analyst at the FGA, Kristi Stahr, labeled these establishments as "hotbeds of fraud," citing instances where benefit cards are swapped for prohibited items.
President Donald Trump's administration, prior to the longest government shutdown in history, which lasted 43 days and exposed vulnerabilities in SNAP, had endeavored to tighten eligibility requirements. The aim was to ensure assistance was directed toward nutritional foods, avoiding alcohol, tobacco, or other non-food items. Legislative adjustments, particularly through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, refined these rules and specified permissible purchases.
Despite these efforts, the issue of non-compliant retailers persists. Federal law explicitly forbids the use of SNAP funds for purchasing alcohol or tobacco. However, historical cases have shown participation in fraud schemes by both recipients and store owners, involving the exchange of benefits for cash or ineligible goods. Notably, a North Carolina grocery store was entangled in a $200,000 fraud case in 2018, and the following year, a Virginia store owner received a 20-year sentence for trafficking over $1.5 million in SNAP benefits.
The modern SNAP program, established in 1964, is designed strictly for the purchase of food for human consumption, excluding non-essential items like alcohol, tobacco, pet supplies, and cosmetics. The program's growth has been significant, now serving millions of Americans and experiencing a surge in expenditures, totaling over $100 billion in 2025.
Amidst these concerns, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins has put forward proposals to enhance access to staple foods, implement tighter retailer oversight, and gather detailed state-level SNAP data to detect fraud. Some states have pushed back against these reforms, with California, where nearly half of the liquor and smoke shop SNAP retailers are located, leading the resistance and initiating legal challenges to prevent program cuts linked to noncompliance.
In response to these challenges, the Trump administration has mandated that all recipients reapply for SNAP benefits to confirm eligibility, though the precise timeline for this process is still being determined. Additional strategies under consideration by lawmakers and USDA officials include stricter vetting of high-risk retailers, more frequent audits, harsher penalties for fraud, and incentives for grocery stores that offer fresh produce to join SNAP.
