A federal regulation that prevented most people with drug and alcohol convictions from becoming vendors that accept food benefits has been changed after a Maryland grocer won his lawsuit with the federal government in December. Under new regulations, that prohibition will largely be limited to vendors who committed drug and alcohol offenses on their store property.
“We were delighted,” said Altimont Mark Wilks of Hagerstown when asked about his reaction to the news. It was Wilks’ lawsuit that ultimately brought about the regulation change.
“It really impacted not only our business and our lives, personally, but also our communities in Frederick and Hagerstown, because we were not able to supply affordable food and beverage to low income families who were SNAP recipients,” he said.
When Wilks re-entered society in 2018 after serving time in prison for drug trafficking and firearm possession, he saved up his money to open Carmen’s Corner Store in Hagerstown– in an area where approximately 20% of households rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to help with monthly groceries. But when Wilks applied to accept SNAP at his store, he found himself permanently denied by the US Department of Agriculture, who administers SNAP, due to the Business Integrity Rule– a rule which was widely applied to prevent most people with drug and alcohol offenses from becoming SNAP vendors.
After Wilks opened a second store in Frederick, he decided to sue the USDA in hopes that he would be able to reapply to become a SNAP retailer at his Frederick store.
Read more (and listen) at WYPR.
