The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), once known as “food stamps,” helps
low-income families buy groceries. Instead of paper coupons, benefits now come on an
Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card that works like a debit card at grocery stores.
This change began in the early 2000s, when federal programs started switching to digital
systems. By 2009, most states, including Nevada, had moved their food programs to EBT cards.
The goal was to make benefits safer, faster, and easier to use.
Before that, people had to use paper “food stamps” or tokens. These were often awkward to
handle and sometimes embarrassing to use in public. EBT cards helped solve those problems, but
early systems still had issues. They didn’t always work in every store, and extra card readers
were sometimes required, which made the process complicated and slow.
To fix that, Nevada developed a new “technology-neutral” system that allowed EBT cards to
work with regular store checkout systems. A 2011 state memo, called the Nevada WIC Retailer
Integration Plan, outlined how the state would combine several food programs, such as SNAP
and WIC (Women, Infants, and Children), onto a single card.
At first, J.P. Morgan managed the EBT system for both SNAP and WIC in Nevada. The company
handled the technology that stored benefit information and made sure retailers were reimbursed
after customers made approved purchases.
In 2019, that job was taken over by Fidelity Information Services, the state’s current EBT
contractor. Fidelity now manages EBT transactions for about 500,000 Nevada residents.
During the October 30th Interim Finance Committee meeting, Robert Thompson, director of the
Nevada Division of Welfare and Supportive Services, said Fidelity could quickly deposit state
funds onto SNAP cards if the federal government stops sending money. However, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture has rules that prevent states from directly replacing federal SNAP
benefits with state funds.
That restriction is part of the challenge lawmakers are facing as they try to help families during
the current funding halt.
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