{"id":1505193,"date":"2026-05-09T02:32:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T07:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/?p=1505193"},"modified":"2026-05-12T02:54:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T07:54:22","slug":"new-snap-rules-have-healthy-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/?p=1505193","title":{"rendered":"New SNAP rules have healthy impact"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"TYLER \u2014 The U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s new requirements for SNAP retailers will directly affect millions of people who depend on the program, especially in communities where healthy food is already hard to find. Under the updated rules, grocery stores that accept SNAP must stock more than twice as many whole?food items as before, including proteins, grains, dairy, fruits and vegetables. For the 3 million Texans who use SNAP, this could mean better access to healthier choices in stores that previously offered limited options.<\/p>\n

But the impact won\u2019t be the same for everyone:
\nFor SNAP users:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Better variety for families trying to stretch benefits while still eating nutritious meals.
\n More healthy foods on shelves \u2014 especially in small or rural stores that previously carried mostly processed items.
\n Potentially higher prices if retailers pass along the cost of stocking more perishable foods.<\/p>\n

For communities with food insecurity<\/strong><\/p>\n

The East Texas Food Bank says SNAP provides nine times more meals than food pantries can supply. That means any change to SNAP retailers affects far more people than local charities can cover.<\/p>\n

Healthy options only help if they\u2019re available and affordable \u2014 something many rural Texans still struggle with.
\nFor food pantries<\/strong><\/p>\n

Places like Nacogdoches HOPE, which already serves 400 people a week, are feeling the strain. Executive Director Diedra Harrison says rising grocery costs and shifting SNAP rules have pushed more people to seek help.<\/p>\n

The pantry has seen 70 new clients since the recent SNAP changes. If demand keeps rising, Harrison worries food pantries won\u2019t be able to keep up.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re working hard to find grants and new funding so we can order more food,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Still, Nacogdoches HOPE continues to prioritize healthy eating, distributing 300 boxes of fresh produce every Thursday.
\nWhen the changes take effect<\/p>\n

The new USDA requirements begin this fall, and their impact will depend on how well stores, especially small, rural retailers, can adapt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TYLER \u2014 The U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s new requirements for SNAP retailers will directly affect millions of people who depend on the program, especially in communities where healthy food is already hard to find. Under the updated rules, grocery stores that accept SNAP must stock more than twice as many whole?food items as before, including … Continue reading New SNAP rules have healthy impact<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1505268,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/wp-content\/media\/2026\/05\/SNAP-915x1024-1-179x200.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[177],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1505193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news-archive-archives"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-27 23:37:50","action":"change-status","newStatus":"trash","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/wp-content\/media\/2026\/05\/SNAP-915x1024-1-179x200.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1505193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1505193"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1505193\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1505827,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1505193\/revisions\/1505827"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1505268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1505193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1505193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1505193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}