The main goal of the nation’s food stamp program has been to supplement the buying power of low-income residents when they shop for unprepared foods at grocery stores.
But a major restaurant company is lobbying the federal government on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, federal lobbying records show. Louisville, Ky.-based Yum! Brands has allies among advocates for the hungry who hope to give restaurants a greater role in SNAP.
Yum! Brand restaurants include KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut.
A little-used provision dating to the 1970s allows states to OK restaurants for SNAP benefits. The provision allows the elderly, disabled or homeless – populations that might not be able to cook unprepared foods – the option of exchanging their SNAP benefits at participating restaurants, but only a few states have opted into the program. South Dakota is not one of them.