What is the key issue preventing SNAP participants from making online transactions from farmers markets?

"For SNAP you know it's not like a credit card transaction where you can just enter the numbers online and then complete your transaction," noted Kumar Chandran, senior nutrition advisor at the USDA. "There's also a PIN and so that's the distinction that's what makes it a little more complicated for online purchasing. What we're doing now is taking it not just to have online purchasing solely in the brick and mortar retail, but also applying that to farmers markets so that SNAP participants can purchase online."

USDA's Food and Nutrition Service is seeking applications from non-governmental organizations for a grant program.

"And what the funding is going for is for actually developing the technology and to have a technological solution so that farmers markets will have the technology to enable them to accept EBT card, SNAP assistance by entering their PIN and purchase the food online."

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