West Virginia Watch – West Virginia’s plan to stop Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits from being used to purchase soda will cost state retailers thousands of dollars to purchase new equipment, a representative of a trade association said Wednesday.
Read the full article.
Traci Nelson, president of the West Virginia Oil Marketers and Grocers Association, said the organization recognizes that the intent behind the change is good and agrees that West Virginians should be healthier, but the changes will be costly.
“The new requirements do place a significant financial burden on our members, because now they’re going to have to change their point-of-sale systems, and that can be anywhere from $1,000 to several thousand,” Nelson said. “These little retailers are already running on really narrow margins as it is. So it can put quite a burden on them.”
