At least two groups representing grocers and travel plazas have vowed to fight a White House proposal to charge grocery stores and retailers a fee for accepting food stamps.

The Trump administration's proposed budget calls for charging fees to retailers that participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, the news site Modern Farmer reported. Businesses currently do not pay a fee to participate in SNAP, but federal officials believe the revenue generated would help offset the cost of implementing the program.

The National Grocers Association is among the opponents of the fee. Greg Ferrara, senior vice president of government relations and public affairs for NGA, told Modern Farmer his group is "committed to ensuring supermarkets do not face new fees or burdens for partnering with the government to serve those Americans on SNAP."

NATSO, which represents travel plazas and truckstops, is another opponent. The association noted travel plazas are sometimes the only option for purchasing groceries for poor Americans in rural areas.

"Many NATSO members redeem SNAP benefits, and those that do, play a critical role in enabling financially challenged Americans to obtain food, particularly in rural America," David Fialkov, NATSO's vice president of government relations for the organization, said in a recent blog post. "This fee could discourage SNAP retailers from participating in the program." http://bit.ly/2s2149z

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