The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, had its funding expire last month due to the partial government shutdown. But New Hampshire and other states will use a federal extension to keep the food stamp program running.
The Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday that February's SNAP benefits would go out early -- on January 20th -- to take advantage of the extension.
But while the extension is good news, having two SNAP disbursements in one month has retailers around the country concerned about logistics.
"It does have a real strain on the inventory and the labor force because we try and schedule as much as we can in advance so we have a consistent supply," says John Dumas, President of the New Hampshire Grocers Association.
More than 40 thousand Granite State families use the program to buy food.
“Payments will be disbursed on January 20th but it is critical for recipients to understand that this is their February allotment and not a supplemental payment so they must budget accordingly,” DHHS Commissioner Jeffrey Meyers said in a statement.
