ND1123115

Title: Yum! Brands Discontinues Push for Food Stamps

Description: The owner of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell has decided to stop campaigning to get a bigger slice of the food stamp pie for restaurants.

Page Content: LOUISVILLE, Ky. ? Yum! Brands announced it will no longer lobby for extending the acceptance of food stamps at restaurants, the Detroit News reports. The owner of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC had been campaigning officials in Florida, Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania to allow its restaurants to accept food stamps.

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The move comes after the company faced stiff government opposition to its proposal. ?After discussions with program administrators and key legislators, we have decided not to further pursue the expansion of the Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program's (SNAP) Restaurant Meals Program to enable homeless, elderly and the disabled people to access restaurant foods with their SNAP benefits,? said Paul Carothers, vice president of government affairs. ?We understand there was little support for this initiative.?

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) does not see a need to increase the food stamp program at restaurants. Currently, three states, including Michigan, do let some users to pay for hot meals with food stamps. Michigan has seen an uptick in the number of restaurant locations that accept food stamps from eight to 105 over the past 18 months.

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This week, the USDA announced it would crack down on food-stamp fraud at small retailers, such as convenience stores.

Content Subject: Operations

Formatted Article Date: November 23, 2011

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