WASHINGTON, D.C. (WBTW) — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced approval for South Carolina and Utah to provide online purchasing of food to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) households on Tuesday.

The approval will allow these states to expedite the implementation of online purchasing with currently authorized SNAP online retailers with a target start date to be announced at a later time.

South Carolina’s SNAP participation is more than 558,000 individuals, more than 259,000 households, and totals $855 million annually in federal benefits, according to the USDA.

The authorized retailers working with all participating states are Amazon and Walmart.

According to the USDA, the Food Nutrition Service is working hand-in-hand with state program leadership to provide support and guidance to adapt to the challenges of this public health emergency.

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