New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Friday, Nov. 13, that he has reached an agreement with the Trump administration to delay by 90 days enforcement of a U.S. Department of Agriculture rule requiring retailers that accept food stamps (SNAP) to stock at least seven varieties in each category. The mayor said the delay applies nationwide. The rule has not been withdrawn, so SNAP-authorized stores should review their inventory during the delay.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Friday that, after negotiating directly with the Trump administration, he had agreed to delay by 90 days the start of enforcement of a new U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rule for retailers that accept SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps). According to the New York Post, Mamdani said the delay applies not only to New York City but nationwide.
The new rule requires SNAP-authorized retailers to stock seven varieties, rather than the current three, in each of the dairy, grains, protein and produce categories. Enforcement was originally scheduled to begin Wednesday, Nov. 4. According to the New York Post, Mamdani sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins asking for a six-month delay, and the result was a shorter 90 days. In a statement, the mayor said he was grateful that President Trump agreed to postpone the start of enforcement.
The mayor's office said owners of 100 of the more than 10,000 bodegas (neighborhood delis and grocery stores) in New York City had contacted City Hall with concerns about whether they could comply. The statement said that without more time, many stores could lose the ability to accept SNAP payments, which would hurt both owners' livelihoods and the grocery shopping of households that use SNAP.
The rule carries out a congressional directive in the 2014 farm bill. That directive had been blocked in federal budget legislation and was only cleared in May of this year. Citing the USDA website, the New York Post reported that the rule's main goal is to increase the variety of nutritious foods in areas with few grocery stores (food deserts).
Because the rule applies to retailers that accept SNAP, Korean-owned delis and groceries in New York and New Jersey that take SNAP payments are also covered. Since Mamdani said the delay applies nationwide, New Jersey stores appear likely to receive the same delay. However, this measure postpones the start of enforcement; it does not eliminate the rule. Store owners are advised to check, during the delay, how many varieties they currently stock in each of the four categories: dairy, grains, protein and produce.