Rep. Annette Glenn, R-Midland, Wednesday sent a letter to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration urging changes to help low-income families safely purchase groceries during the coronavirus pandemic.

Glenn said under the governor’s ‘stay home, stay safe’ order, thousands of families that rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) have been unable to buy groceries online or through curbside pick-up because of additional fees some stores charge that aren’t covered by SNAP. Given that lack of access, SNAP participants are forced to physically go into grocery stores to purchase food, increasing the risk to themselves and other shoppers.

“To fix this problem, I urge Gov. Whitmer to quickly take advantage of available options to help our state’s most vulnerable residents feed their families in a way that keeps all of us safer,” Glenn said.

Rep. Glenn recommended the governor take the following actions:

• Apply to the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to include Michigan in the FNS Online Purchasing Pilot Program.
• Apply for a temporary SNAP waiver that would allow SNAP beneficiaries to pay for all home delivery services and curbside pick-up with their SNAP benefits as long as the governor’s “stay home” order is in effect.

“I’m confident Gov. Whitmer will take every step possible to help families most in need get food and groceries in a way that’s at least risk to themselves and the public,” Glenn said.