As convenience store owner Debbie Hart puts it, her community in northern Wisconsin seems like it's "in the middle of nowhere."
Exeland is 30 to 40 minutes away from the closest cities with grocery stores, where she said many people stock up on food.
"Once you've been out shopping, and you know it's another 40 minutes to go back because you forgot your milk or something, that's what we're here for," said Hart, who owns and operates the Exeland Depot with her family.
But keeping milk and other perishable items on the shelves can be a challenge, Hart said. She used to carry more fresh produce like apples and celery, but found there wasn't a consistent enough demand for the items.
"They'll just sit, and we just watch them rot," she said.
Exeland Depot is one of over 100,000 convenience stores in the U.S. where people can buy food through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. But a new rule aimed at increasing healthy foods at SNAP stores could make it harder for retailers to accept the benefits.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last month that beginning in November, SNAP retailers must carry at least seven types of food in each staple category of dairy, vegetables or fruits, grains and protein. It's more than double the number of unique foods, or what's called a "variety," currently required for each category.
The new rule also requires stores to stock more perishable foods, such as fresh produce or refrigerated and frozen items. Retailers will have to offer options across three staple categories of food, which is an increase from the current standard of two categories.
Craig Carpenter is an associate professor at Michigan State University who studies how policy changes impact SNAP enrollment. He said the new rule is meant to ensure SNAP shoppers have access to healthy foods at their preferred store.
But in reality, many small retailers, like convenience stores and dollar stores, will struggle to meet the new standards and maintain their ability to accept SNAP dollars.
"(The result is) a reduction in access to healthy food options for some people on SNAP, in lower-income areas especially, and in some rural areas as well, where there's not as many grocery stores," he said.
As evidence, Carpenter points to USDA's impact analysis of the new rule, which estimates that 5,000 retailers will lose their SNAP eligibility under the new requirements. By comparison, around 2,000 stores lose their eligibility each year for failing to meet the current standards.
Perishable foods can be risky
In a press release announcing the new stocking requirements in May, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said her agency is making sure retailers who accept SNAP dollars are "actually in the business of selling food."
"And for those retailers who are the only food outpost for miles, I know you will be so excited to serve your customers and communities healthy food," Rollins wrote in the statement.
But Chris Bernard, president and CEO of nonprofit Hunger Free Oklahoma, feels the statement shows officials are out of touch with the challenges faced by retailers and shoppers in rural communities.
He said perishable foods can be risky for people with limited food dollars to spend, since they spoil quickly and can require time to prepare. And retailers face the same risk that an item could expire before they're able to sell it.
"Having to carry those wide varieties is just essentially saying 'you are going to lose money on this,'" Bernard said.
After the new requirements go into effect in November, federal officials said in the impact analysis that they expect affected stores "will likely invest in stock to meet the new standards and apply for reauthorization."
But given the significant staff reductions at USDA, Bernard said he's skeptical retailers will receive much help from the agency to meet the new standards.
He said retailers in states like Oklahoma are already feeling the impact of state restrictions on SNAP-eligible foods and the decline in SNAP enrollment caused by changes in last year's One Big Beautiful Bill.
Participation has declined by 3.5 million people nationwide since the law was enacted in July, according to an estimate from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
"That creates massive pressures on businesses that are super fragile already, and then damages communities,” Bernard said, adding that local governments in his state are funded through sales tax.
In Wisconsin, store owner Hart said many of her customers rely on SNAP. But she said in recent months, transactions have been down and several regulars have lost their benefits.
Those customers are still coming in to shop, Hart said, but they're facing tough decisions on what they can afford.
"They're getting to the point where they have to decide 'I have to stop spending somewhere, mostly so I can just have gas to get to work.' So it's getting tight," she said.
Hart said her family believes they can meet the new stocking requirements for SNAP. But she said it will take some adjustments to their stock, including finding space on shelves that are already full of items requested by her neighbors.
This story was produced in partnership with Harvest Public Media, a collaboration of public media newsrooms in the Midwest and Great Plains. It reports on food systems, agriculture and rural issues.
