Berea College Farm Store to resume SNAP sales Feb. 14

Sierra Marling, Richmond Register, Ky.
·4 min read

Feb. 9—Sierra Marling

Berea College student Jessica Powell said her gut sank when she saw a post on Facebook claiming that Electronic Benefit Transfer Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (EBT SNAP) benefits were no longer being accepted at the Berea College Farm Store.

Powell is co-president of the nontraditional student association at the college, and as a nontraditional student herself, she relies on the farm store as a source of quality food.

"The farm store is the place that has healthy, organic foods, and it's walking distance for our [nontraditional students] without a car," she explained. "Me and my whole family will take lunch trips to the farm store. It's just a very special place for us; there's nothing else like it around."

She immediately drafted an email to Berea College Provost Scott Steele. Shortly after, she had an answer.

Powell said, "By Monday, I had heard back from him and David Little from the farm store that they would make sure [nontraditional students] had access to EBT-eligible items while they were working on getting it sorted for the community as fast as they could. It was such a relief, because the only other option we have is Walmart, and that's not always good, fresh, or reliably in stock with our favorite foods."

According to Berea College representatives, the issue is temporary as they work through compliance issues that were discovered at the farm store.

The college made the decision to pause the acceptance of EBT SNAP benefits while they handled SNAP compliance issues found during a regularly scheduled internal audit. The compliance issues revolve around the sale of different types of foods. Some SNAP-ineligible foods, such as hot and ready-to-eat items, were being sold and incorrectly charged to customers' EBT SNAP benefits.

"Following an internal review, the Berea College Farm Store recently determined that it was not in compliance with SNAP. Rather than risk compromising SNAP benefits enjoyed by some of our customers through the sale of ineligible items on EBT cards, the decision has been made to discontinue acceptance of EBT at the present time," said Steele.

He added, "Administration of SNAP can be complex for a small retailer, especially the Berea College Farm Store, since it offers some staple foods that are eligible under SNAP and other prepared, hot, or ready-to-eat items that are not. The difference between the two categories can be confusing, especially for our part-time staff and student workers."

Andrew Oles, who serves Berea College as the farm director, said the state's SNAP office is working internally with the farm store's staff to execute training and resolve compliance issues quickly.

"Those issues were highlighted to us, and so, to be compliant, we needed to pause acceptance so that we could correct them," he explained. "We will be accepting those benefits again on the fourteenth of this month."

Powell pointed out that Steele took the time to reply to her initial email quickly on a Saturday and she felt the issue was handled expediently and prudently, saying, "I'm incredibly impressed with how the college, Scott and David specifically, handled this situation and kept [nontraditional students] in mind while figuring it out."

Oles said the farm store staff works to embody the high standards presented to them by Berea College and they are excited to continue providing those high-quality products and services to the entire community.

"As a whole, the farm store is committed to the Berea community, but we reach beyond Madison County. Food security is a big piece of what we speak to in our program, not only academically, but in our operational component, and we want folks to have access to high-quality food," Oles said. "It speaks to the mission that is Berea College's Great Commitments. We align with that and very much want to embody that every when we open the doors."

While the Berea College Farm Store will be accepting EBT SNAP benefits once again on Feb. 14, staff noted that staple foods, like fruits and vegetables, will be eligible for SNAP, but items prepared and ready-to-eat at the store are not eligible.

Basically, if it can be prepared into a meal, it is likely eligible. If it is already the meal, it is likely not eligible.

For more information on what foods are SNAP eligible, visit the USDA website at: https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/eligible-food-items.