Produce platform’s status up in the air

HARTFORD, Conn. — U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., wants more information about the status of a program that allows low-income people to buy fresh fruits and vegetables at thousands of farmers markets across the country.

DeLauro and fellow Democratic U.S. Rep. Sanford D. Bishop Jr. of Georgia have asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to explain how it’s addressing the possible end to an online transaction platform that allows recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, also known as food stamps, to make purchases at the markets. They’ve asked for an update on the federal agency’s progress by Friday.

The USDA was recently notified that a company that currently provides the platform plans to shut down. In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, DeLauro and Bishop say the details surrounding the situation “remain unclear.”

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